Of Rock and Tree
by kirinlover
Summary: Tauriel has rushed Kili, nephew to King Thorin, back the Forests of Mirkwood to save his life from the lingering poison of a deadly arrow. Tensions between Dwarves and Elves have not been forgotten among these trees. But, could the first friendship between the two races begin to form as Tauriel learns about the Dwarf she saved? Or perhaps something more than friendship...?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

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><p><em>"No, you cannot be her. <em>

_She is far away….she is far, far away from me. _

_She walks in starlight in another world. It was just a dream…. _

_Do you think she could have loved me?"_

The words spun round and round in Tauriel's ears like leaves caught in a swirling breeze. She was by no means intentionally pondering their sounds. No, not at all. For days she had been consumed with her task of running. The sensations of air rushing by her face and the press of the ground beneath her boots were enjoyed, but certainly not dwelled upon. Only the firm desire to return to the forests of Mirkwood held the main occupation of her mind. And yet….the Dwarf's last words to her were like a haunting music; a tune that tinkled on underneath her thoughts regardless of her attempts to ignore it.

Strange warmth blossomed across her cheeks with each memory of that whispered question.

Tauriel frowned. Surely, she reasoned, it was the chillness of the air that caused such an effect on her person, and not the fine words of the passenger she now carried upon her back. She cast a quick glance over her shoulder to run them over his face.

The Dwarfling was still fast asleep, his cheek pressed comfortably into the nook between her shoulder and neck. She even felt his slow, easy breaths in her tunic despite of the crisp air that whipped through both of their hair. The length of his dark lashes and line of his jaw threatened to distract her for a moment... But only for a moment. Briskly, Tauriel focused her attention once again to the road in front of her and continued her run. Such concentration was not a necessity. The Elf maiden was certain that she could cross the terrain back to her homeland with her eyes firmly shut. As she sprinted, her nimble feet crossed grass, rock, brook, and branch as easily as if she walked over the polished floors of Mirkwood's palace. Such Grace was natural to her kind. Clarity of mind was also a unique talent of the elves, though Tauriel had trouble recalling the fact at the present.

The elf maiden sighed and steeled her concentration to the consistency of Mithril. She had no time to waste time upon idle reminiscing. She was on a mission. Her passenger Kili, Son of Dis- sister to the vagabond king Thorin Oakenshield- had been badly wounded during his escape from her forest's prisons not days ago. A malevolent Orc arrow had pierced his thigh and riddled his blood with a deadly poison. Tauriel had followed the dwarf company from Mirkwood all the way to the human village of Laketown. She had been in hot pursuit of the orcs that had not only killed many of her friends and soldiers, but had also wounded the dwarfling. Before she could exact vengeance upon the heads of the hated orcs, she ran into several dwarves of Oakenshield's company that had been left behind with the humans. Among this number, was Kili. He had been near death when she happened upon him- the poison nearly completing its insidious purpose. With the aid of the healing herb Athelas and her own inherent Grace, Tauriel was able to stop the toxin before it claimed the dwarf's life. But the evil was not completely destroyed. The arrow bore upon its head a dark spell; a vileness straight from the heart of Dol Guldur. It would take more than her ministrations to cure it completely. Only the accomplished healers of Mirkwood bore the skills to perform such a task.

So, with the blessings of the other dwarves lingering in Laketown, she had taken leave with Kili in her keeping to the forests of Mirkwood, back to her people with the means of saving the nephew of the king.

It was a noble enough of a task. She understood the tensions between the Wood Elves and the dwarves. Every elf of her homeland had been raised in its shadow. It was this very feud that had forced her King Thranduil to so quickly imprison the company in the first place. But the orcs, enemy to all peoples of Middle Earth, were a threat to elves and dwarves alike. If dwarves were wounded defending themselves from the creatures' darkness, Tauriel could find no reason why her kindred could not take sympathy upon them and treat them as allies- if only in the name of their mutual hatred of *Morgoth's creations.

_I will take the dwarfling to the healers first_, she thought. _I will deal with Thranduil's wrath afterwards._ And wrath there would be. Her king had, not moments before she set out to track and kill the orcs that plagued her forest, demanded the borders of Mirkwood closed. His son Legolas had bid her to retreat to the trees and forgo her vendetta. But she had disobeyed him, and in doing so, disobeyed her king.

Tauriel felt her lips form yet another frown. For all her life, she had served her forest as its devoted protector. She had made it her goal to run faster, shoot her arrow farther, and nurture the trees more deeply than any other elf. At the young age of 450 years, she had been inducted into the king's elite guard. With pleasure did she destroy spiders and other illnesses to Mirkwood, patrol the borders of the forest, and carry out the various commands of her *Grey monarch.

Yet despite nearly 150 years of loyal service, she always found herself lacking in Thranduil's eyes. She knew the reason for this mal content. Legolas harbored an affection for her. The two had been dispatched on numerous missions together. Many a day had been spent between them in clearing webs from branches, hunting down egg sacks and setting a torch to them, and cleansing the trees from their perennial filth. When such tasks were done, Tauriel would often retire with Legolas to some lofty branch and enjoy the glow of the stars. They talked of many things in the starlight. Of the way the world was, back when its air was bright like sunlight on dew. Of the dark future that loomed over the treetops… Sometimes, it was not until many dawns and sunsets had passed before they finished a conversation. But the elf maiden hadn't dared let her heart wander.

She knew of the distance between their names. Legolas, son to the king, was 2,000 years of age. He was of royal blood and destined for great deeds, worthy of a place in the annals of the *Arda. At least, that was what his father had in mind for him. Tauriel, on the other hands, was a mere wood elf. She was the best archer of her rank, as well as a captain of the Guard. But she was young compared to the Prince. To his fire, she was but a mere candle flame. Nonetheless, Legolas was a kind kinsman and a trusted comrade to her.

She knew though, always, that the king was wary of this friendship.

This is why he told her to never return Legolas' gaze. This is why he let her excel in missions away from his palace, but rarely let her roam its halls at her leisure. And this was ultimately why he would lay a very singular brand of anger upon her head at her return to Mirkwood after defying his orders to never leave it.

Tauriel jumped lithely over stream and landed on the other side without stopping. She continued her race over the grasslands with only a small sigh interrupting the smoothness of her lopes. _The return of the dwarf will surely only fuel his frustration. Alas, there is nothing to be done. _She had refused to abandon the dwarfling to his doom in Laketown. He was her responsibility now, and she would see him healed. With or without the consent of her king.

The elf adjusted Kili's position, settling his body more firmly against her back. His arms unconsciously tightened their hold around her. Suddenly her frown was gone. In a flash, her stormy ruminations were banished and in their place shined a light amusement. She smiled, daring once more to look over at him. It surprised her to find a similar smile upon his own lips. The dwarfling was still lost in sleep.

Tauriel wondered, for the first time, if her flight from Mirkwood had been caused by anger at the orcs, or a very different reason…

The smell of leaf and loam recaptured her attention at once. A warmth rose in her spirit and permeated her entire being at the sight. Before her, a thick expanse of dark, green trees rolled like the coast of the largest river. She could not help but notice the grey tint of the forest's bark- such was the taint of Dol Goldur. But it was still a beautiful sight. The leaves still clung to greenness and the branches reached high for the sun and stars. The forest was strong. The forest was _home._

Tauriel doubled her speed, her vast energy far from spent since her departure from Laketown, and sprinted towards the boundary of the Mirkwood Forest.

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><p>Hey all!<p>

Just some vocabulary, since I have been reading a bit of Tolkien's literature here and there and would like to include what the average fanfiction reader might not know:

*Melkor/Morgoth was an enemy to Middle Earth during the First Age. A terrible threat, he lured Elves who first walked upon Earth into the darkness and twisted them into the corrupt beings commonly known as Orcs.

Sindar is a title for *Grey Elves: Sindarin Elves. They are an old, and noble breed that were of the Elven Kindred called the 'Teleri' that chose to remain in Middle Earth instead of sailing to the Undying Lands (Valinor) with the other two Kindreds. The Sindarin Elves made their homes in the forest kingdom of Beleriand. Later, Thranduil left Beleriand with his father and became King of Greenwood the Great (later Mirkwood) after the death of his father.

*Arda is the name for Earth during the age of Elves, Dwarves, and men.

Also, since there are so many repetitions of proper names like Elf and Dwarf, I have spared our eyes the trouble and capitalized the names upon my first usages of them. Then, from then on, I have left them lower case.

So this is just a little tale about Kili and Tauriel. Angst is to come! But so is corny-ness.

Please review!

-Kirinlover


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

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><p>First there was light. A hard, sharp light that reminded him of white diamonds.<p>

Kili grunted and fiercely rubbed his closed eyes, only stopping when the stinging pain had dissolved back into darkness. He waited a moment before tentatively opening his eyes a second time.

What he saw made his breath catch in this throat like a trapped bird.

The Dwarf had not been in one stable location for many moons. Most times he wakened from sleep to a new environment every day. At some occasions, he woke to open skies with clouds or jewel-bright stars. At others, it was to a canopy of leaves, the rough skin of a tent, or the damp stone of a prison cell. He had grown accustomed to life on the road and its ever-changing stream of scenery.

The sight that presently filled his vision was one he had never seen before. The surprise was far from a pleasant one…

The sheets that swaddled him on the bed were of the purest white. Not even milky quartz claimed such a color. On the wooden walls around him, intricate carvings of trees with branches that ran together in a net of boughs and leaves decorated every surface. Kili's heart began to beat an erratic tattoo against his ribs. The casting his eyes upward brought no relief. The ceiling was a thing of splendor that rivaled all other artistry. On it, a ring of carved leaves held in their center a handful of stars, each star cast in shining silver.

He was in no hall of his own people; far too much flora for their taste. And the dwarf knew with certainty that he was _far_ from the human Bard's meager abode. There existed only one breed of craftsmen that possessed the skill to construct a room like the one he currently occupied.

Kili wasted no more time gawking. He flung the blankets from his body and quickly moved to set his feet on the ground. The ground, however, was farther away than he anticipated. The moment he moved his weight to his feet, his body pitched forwards and hurled through the air. He met the floor on his palms and knees. Pain shot up his right leg as if it were caught in a briar patch. Kili grit his teeth and rolled over to his back to ameliorate the pain.

_What?!_

He peered down at his leg a moment later as the stinging sensation faded. The cause of his pain was clear. All around his thigh, a cross-hatching of bandages hid the skin from sight. This brought about another realization. He was without breeches. The dwarf frowned and moved into a sitting position with a hard yank pulling his tunic over his legs. The garment was a large one. The sleeves fell past his hands. Its sleeves, he noted, had a laurel of leaves stitched into their fabric with gilded thread. It was clearly made for a person of high class and of bigger proportions.

_Durin's Beard! I've been taken prisoner yet again. _

Kili sighed. How had he gotten himself into this mess?

_Where is Oin?_ he thought, eyes running frantically back and forth over the room.

_Where is Fili?!_

His heart gave a single beat of panic before flashes of memories flooded his senses.

Him laying prone on a dinner table, the gaping wound on his leg weeping tears of black blood. Pain. So much pain. Enough to make him want to close his eyes and never again wake. Then her.

_Her._

The Elf maiden shone before him like a goddess of the stars. He knew it was could not have been the real Lady. Surely it was only an imagining of a pain-dizzied mind. But a single touch from that radiant hand had been enough to cure his injury as quick as lightening. He remembered speaking something to the goddess of his dreams. How _relieved_ he had been to be freed from his torture. How he wished to thank her, a thousand times to thank her. The glimpse of his hand reaching out to brush the glowing tips of her fingers was the last he remembered of that moment...

Kili frowned, feeling the texture of his bandage. It was not of human-make. It was as soft as silk, though he knew that should he try to break it, he would have a better time cutting rock with a blade. The dressings were fresh ones. Which meant they had been replaced since his kidnap from the human village. But why? Why bother tending to the health of a prisoner?

Especially a prisoner that had escaped (only to be captured yet again).

Before he had an answer, the latest of his memory rose up to claim him. The visage of the elf maiden returned in his mind's eye. But this time….she was different. Not shining like a creature of the Heavens, but dull. Dull like him. Her arms held his legs as she carried him upon her back. Her hair, still a bright copper despite the absence of glow, flowed around his face as he leant it upon her shoulder. He recollected scenes of him leaning against a rock as the elf gently pushed fruit or bread to his lips. She dabbed water against his mouth just as gingerly. Images of her deftly cutting the bindings on his leg with a dagger and cleansing the wound with stream water also made themselves clear. Then, he was returned to her back. She was running. Running with her hair rising to surround his face like a summer's breeze.

He closed his eyes briefly as he enjoyed the scent of those silken tresses: flowers. They smelled as sweet as wild flowers.

Suddenly, his eyes snapped open with awareness.

It wasn't a dream. She _had_ been there in Laketown. Her hands had healed him, and then promptly stolen him back to her elven kingdom.

Kili was still for a moment as he pivoted madly between joy at seeing Tauriel again, and despair at being once more in the land of his enemies.

_She could have let me die_… The dwarf ran his eyes over his injury. He flinched at the memory of a black arrow digging into his flesh. It had not been a natural wound. The flesh had remained dark and gaping throughout his company's journey to Laketown, and seemed have to sapped his strength with every passing second.

Seeing it now in the light, sunshine illuminating the crisp white of the bandage, was a surreal experience. Kili carefully prodded the bindings on his leg. He waited for a spasm of pain. But there was none. The dwarf knit his brows and pressed harder on the location that he was sure bore the mark of the arrow. A familiar sting made him instantly withdraw the pressure. But…the pain was not intolerable. In fact, it was nothing compared to the agony he had suffered not days before.

Kili quickly came to several conclusions at once. One: the elves had healed him. There could be no other explanation, since, as far as he knew, the injury had been close to claiming his life before Tauriel had appeared. She brought him here and her people had provided their medicine. Two: his presence in such an extravagant room meant that he was no ordinary prisoner- were he one at all. His hosts were maintaining their treatment his leg and obviously committed to his full recovery. Thus the large bed and its fresh linen. Thus his pristine leg wrappings. Thus the fine tunic of a thousand threads!

He was no hostage.

He was a guest.

* * *

><p><em>At least, that is what they would have me think<em>… Kili grunted and got to his feet. He transferred his full weight to one leg and then the other. The results of this test were satisfactory. He then bent his knees and executed a series of stretches. Though his right leg still stung when put under significant stress, it was bearable. The dwarf then surveyed the room. There were no obvious exits aside from the door. As with dwarven doors, there were no metal hinges upon the wood. Kili walked to it and ran his hands over the edges available to him. The wood and wall were so close that he could hardly run a hair betwixt them.

He sighed. As his fears suggested, the door was as meticulously wrought as the trees, leaves, and stars all around his room. There was no escape. The dwarf ran his hands angrily through his dark hair. His fingers combed through them without a snare. Kili made a contemptuous sound and inspected a lock. It gleamed faintly in the light with an unusual sheen.

_They…they bathed me!_

A hot anger enveloped his heart.

Enough was enough. Though Kili was inclined to allow Tauriel's touch (anywhere she wanted, really), he would NOT endure the hands of some _elves_ groping him where ever they damn-well-pleased! His captors had taken the clothing of his homeland from him, surely broken his handmade arrows by now, and he didn't even want to _think_ about what they had done to his bow.

Kili let his rage wash over him, burning in its wake any appreciation he had begun to harbor for his hosts. The elves had betrayed the dwarves of Erebor long ago. Between them stood a hatred and rivalry that could not be bridged with one healed wound and a set of soft sheets.

He was a fool to have forgotten.

The dwarf flew to his bed, fingers ready to rip shards of the wood from its frame and carve himself out of that accursed room. A soft knock on the other side of the door halted his frenzy. Kili went still and silent.

"Master Dwarf, I have brought you dinner. May I enter?"

The sound of that musical voice made his blood go cold.

Faster than he thought himself capable of, he released the bedframe and hurled the covers across his body. He was suddenly all too aware of his bare legs and naked feet. Color creeping over his neck, Kili pulled up another blanket to drape over his body. "E-enter!" he rasped. A moment later, the door opened without a sound. He marveled at its construction. No hinges, no metal- only wood. Yet it was as solid as stone, and still easily moved. He wondered if he could burn the superior work of carpentry down if things came to that…

Then his eyes went to the elf maiden and he lost all previous thoughts.

She really was beautiful... Her skin was soft and tan, as if it took in the sun's rays and made them its own. The copper of her hair glittered like the metal it so resembled and her hazel eyes were as deep as Topaz.

Tauriel gave him a small smile. It was nearly the end of him. The dwarf busied himself with fussing over his sheets, making sure he was decently shielded from her vision. "How are you feeling?" she asked as she crossed to his side. The elf's golden eyes remained on him even as she dipped to place a tray of bread and fruit and a bronze pitcher upon a nearby table. Kili swallowed thickly. With that, he banished his fluster at seeing her again.

"Probably something akin to what a potato bag feels after it's been shipped to market," he said lightly and grinned up at her. Though the maiden had certainly given him a ride smoother than any pony during their travels, he was not about to make her privy to such a fact.

The elf did not return his smile. "I shall explain," she said simply. Her eyes went to his right leg beneath the bed sheets. "My kinsmen and I were pursuing the band of Orcs that attacked our kingdom during your escape." If she felt any anger or irritation at the mention of the dwarve's flight from the elven prisons, she did not show it. She simply held his gaze with a cool calmness. "Before I could engage them, however, I happened upon you in a human dwelling. The orc poison in your blood was killing you. I recognized the work of my enemy, and would not have it upon my conscience to let their evil take another innocent's life. Thusly, I abandoned my prey and tended to you. I transported you across the leagues that separate the human village and Mirkwood upon my back. Such a pace was necessary to spare you the poison's full effects." Kili felt slightly more sheepish about his comment, now that he understood the extent of the elf's commitment to his speedy transport.

"We remain in my kingdom so that your injury may be fully repaired."

Tauriel blinked and suddenly her gaze was upon his face. The intensity he found there was testament enough to the truth of her story. "Our healers have already drawn the last of the poison from your system. Now, all that remains is the successful mending of your body and mind."

He brooded over her words for a handful of moments.

Her intentions had been noble ones. She'd known her people could heal him, and performed the steps necessary to bring about his salvation. Kili was definitely happy to be alive. But he was suddenly consumed with thoughts of what he had left behind.

_The Company. Thorin… They have made it to Erebor by now. And they are surely battling that Wyrm as we speak!_ His hands clenched into sweaty lumps. He tried to keep his turmoil from his face. He did not want to fault the beautiful maiden for her endeavors to protect him. But in his current residence, he was far from his family. Far from fulfilling the mission he had set upon so long ago, and far from finally seeing his Uncle returned to his throne under the mountain.

Kili lifted his dark eyes up to meet the green-speckled ones of the elf.

"I….I thank you," he said softly. He cleared his throat and looked at her more earnestly. "Thank you for saving my life."

She nodded and passed him a cup of water. He accepted it and drained its contents. Tauriel filled his cup several more times before his thirst was quenched. Kili nodded his thanks and drew his sleeve across his moist lips. He noticed the elf's eyes following the movement. "You know this shirt?" he asked. She smiled before answering. "It is my own." Kili froze and looked down at himself. He hastily rubbed the dampness he had imprinted upon its fabric.

The maiden laughed. It was a rich, warm sound. Like honey. "I gave it to you freely, Master Dwarf. As do I freely give you the use of my room." Kili looked up at her with wide eyes. "This…this is _your_ room?" His unfulfilled attempts at destroying the bed shamed him. He was relieved she had knocked when she did. "You needn't sacrifice your bed to me," he said sternly, wishing he could jump out of it. He looked at her helplessly. The fact that she was without her quarters for his sake made him miserable. He decided then, how to clear up the matter.

"You know, Master Elf," he said, laying upon her the epithet she had used for him, "I think I am quite healed." He stretched exaggeratedly and popped the bones of his back. With that display over, he grinned widely into her face. "If you just return my breeches to me, I would have you escort me out of Mirkwood and we can be done with all this." He looked at her expectantly, hoping for her quick agreement.

It did not come. Tauriel watched him with unreadable eyes. "You have not properly mended, Master Dwarf." She gently set the plate of food in his lap and placed a brimming cup of water closer to his bed. "You must remain at least three days more to truly be rid of the arrow's ill effects." Kili frowned, unable to restrain it.

"I am flattered by your hospitality," he began, refusing to even acknowledge the bread. "But I am not free to linger here as I please. My Uncle _needs_ me. My people need me. The longer I tarry here, the more likely my kinsmen are killed and my kingdom forever lost." He set the tray of food away from him with a jerky motion. An apple rolled off to hit the floor with a loud thump.

The two stared at each other in a tense silence. Tauriel was the first to act. She slowly began moving towards him. Kili's instincts writhed, the urge to flee surging in his blood. She was going to attack him, restrain him!- force his acquiescence. But instinct was no match for his fascination with her. The gold of her eyes held him like a spell. He sucked in a breath as she came close enough for her fiery hair to fall over her shoulders and brush his chest. Then, she proceeded in leaning over him to pick up the apple on the other side of the bed. In a flash she was standing straight. Kili blinked dazedly up as he struggled to arrange his swirling thoughts.

"To leave now would only put all the efforts of my people in vain," the elf finally told him. Her voice was low and grave. Tingles broke out across his skin. The dwarf attempted to voice a rebuttal, but his head was still reeling. "If you leave here wounded, your weakness will lead to your destruction. It is only in strength that you may survive."

She placed the apple in one of his hands. The feel of her fingertips against his palm brought him lucidity. He sat up quickly, bringing his face close to her own. Close enough to feel her breath on his cheek. Tauriel blinked in mild surprise. "I am _not _weak." Kili focused upon channeling his character into his gaze. He had been born with a weapon in his hands and had achieved lasting fame with his skills in a bow and arrow among his kindred. He was brother to the heir of Durin, as well as nephew to his people's wandering King. "I would give _my life_ fighting for Thorin and my friends," he said quietly, acutely aware of the destiny he had placed upon his shoulders.

He saw understanding flicker in the elf's fair face. Satisfied, Kili pulled away and settled back into his place among the pillows. Tauriel continued to stand like a statue, her eyes seeming to look past his body. "Though, I will admit you are right in some things…," the dwarf muttered eventually, crossing his arms. He felt defenseless under her scrutiny. He sighed and took a bite the apple's flesh. "I will stay. But three days only. No less." He looked at her fiercely as he chewed.

The elf nodded. Embarrassment, smugness, contempt- if the maiden was feeling any of those emotions at all he could not tell. "Very well," she replied. Kili sat quietly as the fire of his indignation ebbed away. By the time the apple had been eaten to the core, he was empty. His chest rose in a deep sigh.

The dwarf knew he needed to apologize. Tauriel had not moved from her vigil by his bedside. Her attention might have been considered disconcerting by any other creature. But Kili couldn't help but notice her shining hair. And those eyes…those perfect mixtures of gold and emerald. He treasured her gaze. He only wished he had been more civil in his remarks to her. Now she was surely eager to be rid of her patient, despite her previous declarations.

"Three days. Then, I will see personally to your exit from these forests," she said.

Kili flinched. He chewed the core, even swallowing the seeds, and resisted wiping the lingering stickiness on his shirt. "Thank you," he answered softly. He chanced a look in her eyes. What he found was not anger, as he had feared. Instead, he had the strange feeling that she….respected him. At least a little.

Then the elf maiden turned away and began making her way to the door. Kili sat swiftly forwards in the bed. "Hunting!" he shouted to her back.

She cast a small glance at him. "I ask humbly for the opportunity to go hunting tomorrow. I appreciate the fruit," he said, smiling sheepishly at the untouched tray of food, "but we Dwarves require meat." He turned back to her. "Will you allow it?" Tauriel tipped her head slightly. Her eyes glinted and she pushed a hidden mechanism of the door to make it swing open.

"I would have you hunt as much as you safely could, Master Dwarf," she said, politely enough. He heart rose as the chance to leave the room loomed near.

"But," his heart plummeted, "such a decision is not mine to make. It is my King's, and I have not yet alerted him to your presence in our palace." The dwarf frowned.

…_.what?_

"I am on my way to relay such information. If he permits you to wander, I will inform you." A shadow fell across her face. "If he is angered by my choice to bring you here, however, I will likely not see you again. A guard will be sent instead to take you from my room and you will be free from this forest much sooner than I would want..."

Her eyes held his as if they were anchored there. The weight of her gaze, and her words, made the gravity of his situation sharply clear. Sharp enough to painfully slash apart all hopes he had of leaving these quarters under his own liberty.

Yet, all at once he was no longer worried of his own selfish cravings for meat and space to breathe. Nor even about his sudden loss of authority over his own person. He was worried for _her_.

"Tauriel…," he whispered, unsure of what to say. A tiny flame of fear had kindled in the darkness of his thoughts.

But then she was gone, the door shutting with eerie silence behind her.

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><p>Thanks for reading guys! Review please!<p>

-Kirinlover


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

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><p>Tauriel rarely questioned her own judgment. Countless days of walking across a land that surged beneath her feet in flux of energy had molded her into a patient, watchful creature. She had come to treasure life. She considered the trees as much her family as her Elven kin. The birds and deer and insects were her friends. And while she could sit for centuries enjoying the beauty of a sunset painted on leaves or the song of a nightingale, she was quick to take action to defend that which she so admired. The constant threat of evil in her beloved home had forced her to lay upon select heads a swift and merciless death. It was not a responsibility that she shouldered with pride; it was a necessary pain to protect the fragile moments of sunlight and color that persevered in a world of shadow.<p>

After 150 years of serving her forest in the name of her King, Tauriel trusted her heart completely. Hesitation to kill an Orc, slay a spider, or aid a comrade only ended in tragedy. So she acted when duty demanded it, and lost those she loved when instinct or courage failed her. Act. Love. Live. This was the cycle she had come to understand and uphold with every fiber of her being.

With such truths blazing brightly in Tauriel's spirit, it was a wonder to her why she now found doubt darkening her thoughts as she crossed the halls to the palace's throne room.

_Do I….do I truly regret what I have done?_

The elf resisted the urge to clench her hands. Instead, they remained loosely relaxed while she entered an exited various antechambers bedecked with branches, woodland creatures, and glittering crystals carved into their wooden surfaces. Her people prized the verve of the forest, and felt the ever flowing need to pay homage to it in everything their hands could make. Palace, home, weapon, boat, and even clothing were all dedicated to this omnipresent veneration. Tauriel let her fingers drift idly over the molded bark as she examined the strange feelings in her heart.

She was perplexed by the slight trepidation she felt at seeing her king. She knew he would be displeased by her latest lapse in loyalty. It could be said by none that Tauriel would not give her life to serve her king and country. Indeed, she had nearly lost it on several occasions by taking on campaigns that inevitably landed her on the wrong end of blades and fangs. But she was strong. Always, she was strong. She shot her arrows faster and knew the terrain better than any of her foes. It was her complete confidence in her abilities and judgment that enduringly carried her back to the palace with news of a successful mission. Thranduil allowed her on such journeys because he shared in her faith. Tauriel was as committed to her position a captain of the Guard as the Mirkwood sovereign was noble in his kingliness. They made a capable pair.

Yet….yet she was not blind to her Lord's less than sympathetic stance towards her. While they had always upheld their respective roles as King and solider, there was something lacking in the personal relationship between two kinsmen. It was this shortage of friendship that made Tauriel's footsteps slower than had she been en route to Legolas or another confirmed companion.

_The fault he finds in my misconduct will be colored by the disapproval he as always held for me and my dealings with his son... _

She knew Thranduil misunderstood the easy camaraderie she enjoyed with the Prince. This knowledge had never explicitly complicated the captain's dealings with her commander. She (for the most part) loyally obeyed her King and did not take to heart the constant coldness of his character when in her presence. The father wanted only the best for his heir. And in terms of beauty and royal lineage, Tauriel was from the ideal match. The elf maiden silently scoffed at the idea of herself linked to another in matrimony. She hardly felt the anything outside of _affection_ for the majority of the males in her life.

The unbidden image of the Dwarfling in her mind's eyes made her stop. For an instant she noticed the dark scruff of his beard, so unlike the immaculate faces of her people. Lingered on the bright sable of his eyes and the quirk of his grin.

Tauriel blinked up the vaulted ceiling above her. She was very near to the throne room now. Accordingly, the decorations were exceedingly lavish. Her surroundings had undergone a transformation from raiment of wood and earth to another of stone and polish. Beautiful spires and arches of marble filled an open space that marked the palace's center. Friezes of the Silvan Elves' history lay in veins of silver across the smooth stone. Not for the first time, Tauriel wondered how the room of rock seemed to be in subtle harmony with the greenery all around it. She let her eyes flicker over a glittering visage of *Oropher. The proud King stood with a lush crown of branches and leaves cast in white metal. Tauriel dipped her head reverently to him before continuing forwards.

All that lay left for the captain to cross was the gateway: two pale doors with glyphs of the Sindarin language like a coronet above the curves.

The elf quickly tried to dash the dwarf from her thoughts. But he refused to leave. In all honesty, he was as much a catalyst of her confusion as her king was. Not only was she unusually wary to come face to face with Thranduil, she also could not help but feel ashamed for hiding the dwarf in her quarters. The only reason for his presence there was her fulfilled wish to save his life. Had she left him in Laketown, he would have perished, she would have continued on with Legolas to hunt and destroy every orc that had invaded their homeland, and then returned to her king slightly guilty but certainly not ashamed.

She did _not_ regret saving the dwarf. It was….it were the repercussions she now faced that worried her. Yes: it was her punishments, and the punishments in wait for the man in her room, which stirred the uneasiness that moved in her blood like a brisk river current. Her heart pounded fiercely at the thought of the dwarfling's imminent prosecution that would be laid upon him simply for the reasons of his heritage and his claim to life. Tauriel's nose wrinkled with the anger in her thoughts. An anger that had been noticeably lacking during King Thorin and his company's initial imprisoning. Why?

_Enough._

The Elf maiden approached the two sentries standing watch over the entrance to the throne room.

They nodded respectfully to her and moved their hands off the hilts of their blades.

"Captain Tauriel," they greeted. She responded by acknowledging their ranks and names. She smiled as they exchanged familiar salutations, falling easily into the role of a solider among fellow soldiers.

She recognized when their conversation was at an end with the *Silvan guards grew silent and still. At some unspoken command shared between the two, they combined their strength to open the twin doors looming behind them.

Tauriel nodded once more to her comrades before striding to the figure sitting languidly in his perch over the whole of the Mirkwood realm.

* * *

><p>His grey eyes watched her every step. She was accustomed to the feeling of his steely attention upon her shoulders. Yet, it was still slightly disconcerting despite the many years she had spent in the monarch's service.<p>

When she reached the stairway that terminated at the pedestal that bore the King's throne, Tauriel flowed into a low bow, one knee on the ground with a hand braced on her thigh. Her hair swept past her cheeks to hang in a copper curtain. The prostration was held for many moments. It was only until Thranduil spoke that she was granted the liberty of climbing to her feet.

"I am glad that you have chosen to return to our Kingdom, Captain Tauriel," the king said, the low timbre of his voice echoing throughout the massive cavern.

"I apologize, King Thranduil, for my absence," she said deferentially, bowing once more. She rose slowly to meet the blue orbs fixed on her figure. "I left my vigil only to pursue our enemy. The death and destruction they unleashed upon our home was not an injury that I could allow to go unavenged." Thranduil was like stone as he considered her words. Tauriel knew the elf had not asked for the reason for her departure, nor, she knew, did he seek one. She only hoped that he would consider it when he minted out the price she must pay as her penance.

"You understand, Captain, that every command I issue is not for my own personal gain, but for the ubiquitous safety and continued prosperity of our people." Tauriel let her eyes fall to the ground. Guilt was cold in her stomach. "Yes, my King." The icy glare did not waver.

"You also understand that if I were made aware of a more efficient solution to the troubles of this land, I would not hesitate to exact it to its fullest potential." Tauriel heard the intended barb but was not affected. She responded, as he expected her to. They were both familiar with her past discrepancies with her king's orders. Such things did not fade easily from the memories of immortals.

"I asked to you for the permission to destroy Dol Guldur," she rehashed from the last conversation she had had with her King. "It is the source for the spiders that never seem to tire of infecting our trees. You declined." She swallowed deliberately to stem the ire that was already rekindling in her thoughts at the remembered argument. "You, My King, must surely deem the plan of killing the spiders one by one as the most reasonable course of action in our defense of the forest." She should have said that she agreed with this judgment, and that her own ideas on the issue were null and void in comparison.

But she didn't.

Thranduil slowly blinked his eyes. His pale lashes moved like the sweep of a bird's wing.

"I need **not** explain myself to you. However, I will deign to do so that you may achieve clarity in this matter." He sat up straight in his throne, his tallness made apparent even in his sitting position. "The act of striking Dol Guldur would be that of the boar that stirs the embers of a dry-leaf fire. The boar would burn its nose and flee. In his flight, the embers would be sent flurrying into the air and leaves of the forest floor. The leaves would catch fire. The air would carry the flames to branches and canopies. The whole of the woods would be engulfed in blaze and the boar, who so naively thought himself spirited away from his demise, would swiftly meet it in a storm of heat and scorch." Thranduil rose gracefully to his feet. He rose up and up, his height only augmented by the tips of his crown of branches. His eyes appeared like stark stars in a giant Oak.

"Only certain doom lies in the attack of that evil place. We kill only the spiders that wander into this forest for we certainly have the means of dispatching them."

"But My King, they are growing in number! We cannot-,"

"And we will _continue_ to dispatch them until they can no longer crawl from their pits. The only assurance of this kingdom's survival is the unrelentingness of its borders, and the prejudiced annihilation of any and all threats that spawn inside of them. This is why I have forbidden you and all our kindred to leave this sanctuary. This is why you have been called here now, so that you may be enlightened to the great harm your deviancy has the potential of inflicting." The monarch began to casually stroll down the steps. He had all the balance of the elves and more to spare. She felt trapped in his glacial eyes. Panic writhed under her thoughts.

"Do you understand, Captain? Can you perceive my ultimate devotion for these forests, and the decisions I issue forth as expressions of this love?" Thranduil stopped when he was but three steps from the stone floor. Tauriel dropped her gaze and bowed her head.

"I am aware, My King, always of your compassion for our homeland," she said, face filling with color. Of course she recognized Thranduil's unwavering commitment to the trees and lives under his command. All acknowledged the intelligence and experience of the Grey leader. He was kinsman to the late *Elu Thingol, and saw personally the lush woodlands of *Doriath before Beleriand sunk beneath the waves. All wood elves looked upon his name with reverence and love, including Tauriel.

Nevertheless, there existed orders from her king that she had troubles submitting to. There remained a coldness he displayed only to her, and she had difficulties claiming imperviousness to its effects. To the sadness and anger it stirred. All of this culminated at once to create a terrible taste on Tauriel's tongue.

"Our kind does not feel so acutely the wear of time, My Lord," she started softly, "yet even we cannot fight Dol Guldur's blight for eternity. I fear the trees will not survive it. We must take action and-"

"You _will_ respect my authority on this, Tauriel."

Thranduil's great voice boomed all around her like thunder.

"In the best interest of the forest and all who call it home, the boundaries of Mirkwood will remain shut until such a time that I deem otherwise." Tauriel snapped to attention, her spine straightening with an audible 'crack'. Her eyes beamed challengingly into those of her king's. Her attempts at meekness were thrown off. "And what of the Orcs, My Liege? They are free to slip in and out, but I must linger here and watch their backs as they return to their wretched masters?" She moved her hands behind her back so that they would not betray her with their fisting. The knuckles drained of pigment as she clenched them. "Are the spiders and orcs and filth of Arda allowed to escape, but the very creatures who love these lands and wish only for its salvation are detained as its prisoners?!"

Thranduil's dark brows lowered a fraction of an inch, the only sign of his frustration with her.

"You are young yet, and cannot conceive the damage that would manifest if our defenses were any weaker. You remain here to protect my people. To protect them when they cannot guard themselves, and to shoot your arrow and throw your blade when they do not have the skill to do so! I keep you and the rest of the Silvan Soldiers here, in the fragile flesh of the body, so that if its skin is breached, the life within can yet be saved." Here, his blue eyes darkened to the complexion of storm clouds. "And the dwarf that you have deliberately brought back is only another illness to wane this forest's sallow strength."

The breath died in her lungs. How had he known?

How could she possibly have thought he hadn't?...

Tauriel did not risk taking another into her throat until the darkness faded from those pallid irises.

"He…was dying," she eventually explained. "From an orc arrow. I did not wish to let our enemy claim another."

"So you would save a dwarf and bring him home and leave my son to bear the remnants of your renegade quest?" Tauriel felt the passion resurge in her blood and she tipped her chin back as her eyes gleamed. "I did not force Legolas to follow me," she said fiercely. The elven King frowned more openly at her.

"You did not have to."

Her fury smoldered but did not rise to flame. The maiden felt her fists unclench slightly, feeling for the first time the cumulative weight of her actions. "Now the dwarf is safe and Legolas remains barred from Mirkwood, far from the only trees and peoples he has ever known."

Her eye's widened.

"He….he has not returned?"

The fire in her chest withered and turned to smoke. Tauriel felt her nails bite painfully into her palms.

_Impossible!_

Legolas was as quick and accomplished a fighter as she! Surely a rag-tag band of orcs posed no serious threat to the nimble archer?

"He is on his way as we speak, he must be. I would never have left the prince if I did not think him capable of defending himself." Thranduil looked down upon her as if he stood on a mountain-peak. The remote chillness of his eyes certainly suggested a lofty placement far from the heat of earthly things. "I do not doubt my son." He turned and began his lengthy ascent to his throne. _It is _you_ whom I doubt_. He did not need to say the words. The maiden flinched under the silent assault. The silver of Thranduil's robes gleamed like clusters of distant stars. The king tipped his head slightly to address her over a gilded shoulder, refusing to face her fully.

"I have assigned you to the Black Brach district. There, you will meet up with the guards and aid in their periodical patrol around the forest's borders. I expect you to keep a watchful eye on the horizon and escort my son immediately to this palace upon his arrival. Then you will return to the district until I ever deem your presence necessary elsewhere."

Tauriel felt something shift in her place in the world. It was not a cataclysmic event. No, something much more subtle… Like a butterfly content in its flight, until suddenly caught in a web that snares its wings with the smallest, sticky strings. The elf maiden had once thought herself free. Had thought herself entitled to run as fast as she could among the trees trunks, climb higher and higher in rank until perhaps earning a spot on Legolas' personal retinue of soldiers. She used to laugh in the rain and lay in the sunlight until her cheeks turned pink with it.

But no more. Her freedom had been an illusion. Only now did she notice the web that pinned her wings, strands that had always been there but had formerly been too fine to see. And her own personal spider had woven around her a very special web. _Flight is beyond me, now_. She loved her king. She loved her country. But the sharp realization that the feeling was not entirely mutual was as painful as venom in a fresh wound. The aching wound, however, brought into sight the sealed scar right beside it. The scar of regret that had been cauterized by compassion.

She understood now.

She _understood_. Tauriel had always kept her heart tightly pinned to the trees and the folk they housed. For hundreds of years her blood had pumped to protect the forest. But, now that she had ventured outside of it and had come to appreciate the life of rock and dirt (more specifically, the life of a man of the dwarven race), she peered inside her heart and found it split. A piece of her had been left with the people of Laketown and the company of Thorin Oakenshield…. The pain she felt at betraying her King was made even more agonizing with the awareness that she no longer held him in the ultimate of esteems. She had unknowingly lent out her loyalty to the peoples outside of Mirkwood. Even now, the fierce face of Kili weighed on her heart. The worried faces of the little girls of Bard the Bowman's house. She had influenced and now carried a duty to these souls.

With this epiphany, she realized she did _not_ regret saving Kili and meeting the individuals she had. It was the fracturing and falling away of her blind loyalty to her King that truly hurt and would take much longer to resolve than even she could predict. Quickly, the momentary effusion of emotion was bottled away and thrust into the dark. She covered up the invisible scar upon her person that she now wore as a secret badge. A promise.

"I apologize with all my heart, My King, for disobeying your orders. I now understand the importance of my position, always, among the trees and the people they shelter," she said roughly. Tauriel bent her body into the harshest of bows, her hair pooling on the ground at her feet. She was admittedly ashamed of one of her actions. Leaving Legolas was a folly she simply had no excuse for, but she could that such a decision had saved many lives. She had been the main proponent of the Bard's family and Kili's salvation.

Exile far from the palace to a perpetual post on the bare edges of her beloved home was to be her penalty for this bittersweet choice.

"I will find Legolas, I swear it." She pressed her eyes tightly shut, waiting for the acidic taste of humiliation and resignation to ebb from her lips.

She heard the shuffling of brocade as Thranduil settled into his seat.

"…And the dwarf, My Lord?" she dared to call up to him.

Among his pale hair and even paler skin, the monarch loomed with a power and age that she would never know. A direct influence in the forces that shaped their world lied in the ancient azure of his eyes. They seemed bottomless as he spoke. "I would have him returned to his cell until that king of his paid a ransom with the white diamonds he has long owed me," he said. Tauriel felt a protest fly to her lips, but she swallowed it down. She could not afford to incur anymore of her sovereign's wrath. If he wanted the purging of all dwarf-kind from the Mirkwood realm, it would very well be done.

But such a fate was not to be fulfilled. The deepness of his pupils was curtained as Thranduil closed his eyes wearily. "I prefer, however, to meet Oakenshield upon a different field for our next confrontation. Take the dwarfling with you and see him out of these trees. This time, make sure he never returns."

* * *

><p>Tauriel meandered back to her room with very little haste. She had much to think about.<p>

It was not her King's motives she questioned, though frustration with him was like an itch under her skin. She despaired at the barrier between them that seemed impossible to breach. She lamented that she may never repair this chasm, though as his subject and soldier she desperately wished to.

Alas, there was no remedy for this impasse. The only option available to Tauriel was to swallow her words and carry out his wishes as she had always done.

But she would never again love him as she had before.

His Majesty had made his point crystalline clear: she had been exiled. The elf maiden had spent many a year walking the same, leafy paths. She had shot the same spiders, and methodically destroyed webs, nests and other cradles for disease as chronically as she did breathe. Now, she would continue to mundanely perform these chores in her exile.

Yet….yet there was still something within her that refused to settle.

As Tauriel wound her way through archways and wooden galleries, she relived what she had seen outside of the trees.

Grass: fields of it as far as the eye could see, like lakes of green. She had seen rivers of silver waters, racing through with white foam over rocks and under bridges. And she had seen _them_. The mortal races: dwarves, Humans. Even other animals that had never called bark and leaf their homes. New birds with surprising color pallets, even kind, quick creatures that she had heard named as 'dogs'.

Her heart quickened with the memories, her cheeks flushing like flowers. How amazing the world had been outside! A plethora of plants, animals, and peoples with other cultures, and practices. Just the sight of the Laketown villagers trading fish in the marketplace was an experience that had held her in her place, alight with curiosity. Then the dwarves. The strange band of characters with their weathered clothes, long, exotic beards, and fiery courage despite their small statures. How strange it had been to hear their rough language. How she secretly wished to hear it again, simply to test the weight of it on her own tongue.

She treasured these sights and sounds. Soon, her conflict with the King was washed away under the remembered delight of venturing out into the world that had always been at her fingertips, yet never quite grasped. Tauriel brushed a hand over her chest. Her scar was there: a mark that culminated in the experiences that had changed her, that now tied her to places that were not her home.

Tauriel looked up as she arrived in a leisure hall. She quickly blinked away the past. All around her, elves of different walks of the palace life took a moment to breathe. The giant space held a multitude of wooden tables. Upon them, scribes had rolled up their scrolls to catch a friendly word with fellow workmen and pour over text and numbers. Scholars conversed amongst themselves and gestured occasionally to a piece of the palace, apparently said-object a topic of discussion. Their velvet robes and long, tawny hair was soft in the warm ambiance of the room. Metalworkers compared jewelry and blades and a pair of off-duty soldiers shared a loaf of bread. She even spied a collection of fair skinned maidens exchanging pleasantries as they sewed gold threads and sipped on herbal tea from ceramic cups.

The captain, aware of her many duties, paused as she gazed upon the Grace of her kindred. None of them spoke in tones above a soft whisper. Faces, each a different shade of beauty, looked calm and serene despite the orc attack that had passed not a week ago. _This is the essence of the Elves_, Tauriel thought to herself. Beauty. Tranquility. She understood very well why she gave each second of her day to protecting these ideals.

The rush of life in the other kingdoms outside her own, though, certainly had their merits. She had personally seen them. Witnessed the brash, passionate ways of the humans. The gem-filled and metal-loving zeal of the dwarves. These peoples had displayed to her a layer of life she had not previously been aware of. They had shown her something more of the world that was beautiful. That was _worth_ protecting.

The maiden frowned. The urge to submit to Thranduil's commands and the wonder inspired by the mortals clashed within her. It was this _wonder_ that allowed Tauriel to shake off the momentary contempt she had been made to feel for slipping into the outside lands beyond her forest. This is why she, ready to grudgingly comply to Thranduil and patrol the borders for the remaining of an eternity, still longed to do more for her world than kill the evil local to Mirkwood. She wished to help the humans too, and cure them of the despair that permeated their city like miasma. She wished even to aid the dwarves, and rid them of their dragon- a more pure embodiment of conceit and greed than any orc or spider.

_There is so much more my hands can yet do._

She spared her calloused palms a searching look before recognizing a face in nearby table.

"Lady Elwyn!" the captain called. The amber haired woman lifted her head and met Tauriel's eyes. Her grey eyes crinkled as she smiled. "Captain Tauriel," she said as she bobbed her head in greeting.

The Elf crossed to her and smiled. "I ask a favor," she said, the reality of her oncoming journey putting an end to her reminiscing. The light faded from her eyes and a familiar, soldierly somberness settled upon her shoulders like chainmail. "What do you require, Captain?" Elwyn asked, her musical voice nothing but accommodating. Tauriel had always valued the maid as a capable acquaintance. "Would you gather a week's supply of dried fruit into a pack for me? I am also in need of a new quiver of arrows, flint, three water flasks, rope, twine and any other necessities for a prolonged stay in the trees." The elf blinked, mentally mapping out the locations in which to collect the list of items. "Yes, Captain. I will gather your materials right away. Has My Lord sent you on a new mission? I would have thought your presence would be greatly needed here since the recent breach." The soldier's fists clenched at the mention of the orcs, creatures that could very well be alive and in pursuit of Legolas as they spoke. Tauriel's mouth hardened. "It is because of this attack that my position has been moved to its current location." She executed a swift bow. "My thanks, Elwyn. Please deliver my pack to my quarters before nightfall." With one more quick smile flashed to the ward, Tauriel turned away and exited the hall with long steps.

The call for action was upon her. Though she knew it was exile, the task of making safe the boundaries of Mirkwood with the Black Branch patrol was still honorable. She looked forwards to proving to her king her inexhaustible cache of skills and love for her homeland, despite his lack of support.

_I _will _find Legolas. I will eliminate any threat that comes my way._

Tauriel found her face harboring its habitual frown as another thought entered her mind.

_I….I will escort the dwarfling to the limit of these woods and bid him farewell…_

The maiden adjusted her course to the armory, seeking a new breastplate and set of greaves. She needed to be fully prepared to leave by the time the moon was high among the clouds. And so the first day of the Dwarf's three day presence in the trees of the elven kingdom would come to an end.

Why did the thought of him truly leaving, and returning to his people far, far away sadden her so?

_Is it because I wish to go with him? To once more taste the foreign lands beyond these trees?_

Tauriel shook her head furiously. She added on the errand of fetching Kili's clothes and weapons to her course. The dwarf had the curious effect of leading her thoughts down very peculiar paths. It was best if she didn't think of him at all.

_No. No, we will part ways and I will continue on with my duty as a captain of Mirkwood._

The elf set her mind on the purchase of a razor-sharp heads for her arrows and continued on with the last of her hours spent inside the palace's walls.

* * *

><p>Hey all!<p>

So, if anyone is wondering why Tauriel calls Kili a 'dwarfling', it is because she views him as so incredibly young in comparison to herself. This is not to say that she thinks him immature or childish- it is only his decades long age in comparison to her century one that warrants such a title. This will change as she comes to view him as an equal.

Back to definitions:

*Silvan is another name to classify the Wood Elves. Remember, Thranduil and Legolas are of Sindarin origin- and older and more prestigious of the elven bloodlines- while silvan elves are younger and though to be more brash.

I have taken a small liberty with this story. I added some reliefs (like the silver one of *Oropher- Thranduil's father) to Mirkwood, because I thought any good palace should have one ha ha, and I also added a name Black Branch to the part of woods that is patrolled by a select outfit of guards. I again thought it sounded appropriate.

*Elu Thingol was the first king of the Sindarin Elves of Beleriand in a forested land called *Doriath, a primeval haven to the first of the Teleri kindred. The Silvan, Sindar, and Teleri are all terminologies for the Middle-Earth bound elves. They Sindar are a very ancient race from which Oropher and Thranduil are descended.

Anyway! Hope you liked! Tauriel and Kili actually get some alone time next chapter.

Review pleaseee!


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

* * *

><p>Kili had paced circles around the floor, consistently and with enough fervor to carve trails into any lesser material, by the time Tauriel returned to her room.<p>

He started at the sound of the door opening and returned to the bed, diligently swaddling his body. The Elf maiden entered the room and spared him not a single glance.

Kili sat in silence as he watched her rummage through the small space. He was content to be a rock on the wall, as one would call it in the Blue Mountains, so long that he could watch her without being faulted for it. He looked on with interest as similar mechanisms that made the door spring out of the wall were also activated to reveal a cabinet of hidden drawers. Tauriel pulled out various articles of clothing to deposit in a small sack. He saw two green shirts, in addition to one leather cuirass and coat, get tucked alongside the bundled contents of the pack.

Her gold eyes brought him back into his body when they found his face.

"Are you prepared to leave?" she asked curtly. Kili blinked a couple times before grasping the nature of her question. "We….are leaving? _Now_?" he sputtered. The Dwarf had to admit, his state of mind had not been of the most hopeful last time he conversed with Tauriel. She had left him with the lingering fear that her uncharacteristic disobedience would get him quickly ousted from the palace with she out of his life for good. The latest development in his role in Mirkwood, however, seemed much more to his taste.

_Not only am I being freed from this place quicker than expected, but she is accompanying me!_

A momentary lump of guilt rose up in his throat. He hoped she had not forfeited her own freedom to allow him his. An elf, trading her health for that of a dwarf's? _Surely not._ With the confidence that the maiden was accompanying him in a plan that suited both their needs, Kili smiled and rubbed his hands together.

"Well done, Master Elf! Your speed in securing our deliverance from this fortress could not have been at a more acceptable pace!" Kili beamed at her, secretly admiring her haste. She seemed as eager to be free from the four walls that surrounded them as he was.

He couldn't help but wonder what words _exactly_ had been exchanged with the king to allow her such quick passage. The dwarf had thought, with renewed bitterness and anger, that he might be returned to his cell and suffer a trial that Thorin had endured when he next saw his rescuer.

_Thranduil could have laid the blame of our escape entirely on me. My punishment would be long and my torture slow. _

_Or, he could have had me rot in a hole until my Uncle freed me with a ransom fit to satisfy only the most jewel-greedy of men._

And yet…yet word of these dreaded scenarios are not what passed Tauriel's lips when she returned to him. Her news was of movement and fresh air, not of stagnation in a prison.

He pondered, again, why his elven hosts had gone through the effort of healing him at all.

"My King has moved my station to Black Branch district." Kili blinked and focused on the present. "It is a location is on the forest's border. It will take us two days' time to reach it by foot. If we keep our pace slow, to better accommodate your recovery, we will reach the district in three days." She moved to his side to lay a stack of familiar clothing and on the bedding. Kili was delighted to see his old garb. So they hadn't destroyed it! The dwarf eagerly clutched at the blue tunic and leather overcoat. He rubbed his breeches lovingly between his hands before casting a wary eye up to Tauriel. Her fiery hair had been tamed into a long plait down her back. Also, her attire seemed to be more close-fitting and sparse than usual. She was dressed to travel. The elf fastened the sack with a series of leather loops to curve of her hips. "Three days _in addition_ to the one I spent pacing up and down your room like a caged rat?" Kili said slowly. He frowned at his tone but didn't dare alter it. His strange predicament and Tauriel's brisk handling of it left many an unanswered question in his mind. It was very frustrating.

He was sure that she had meant for him to spend his first day on her bed, relaxing and meditating. But lying around was for children or the sick, and he had outgrown those conditions long ago. So he had paced and paced for hours until his feet pained him more than his wound. Kili tossed aside the thought to focus on what currently perturbed him. His deal with the elf had been given a span of three days. No more, no less. Three days in which his body would fully recuperate (to the elf's liking) and his reunion with his kinsmen would finally be exacted.

Tauriel's lips twitched in smile. "Plans change, Master Dwarf. I thought you would be pleased to spend the remainder of your time with me outdoors instead of 'caged' in my quarters?" She closed the drawers and moved to the door. "I-I am!" he answered. Kili searched for the rhetoric he had prepared to bring about the removal of the extra day appended to their deal, but the words had fluttered way

More time in the beautiful elf's company? Now_ that_ was something he had not considered…

Kili toiled in his own thoughts for a moment before Tauriel spoke. "Please, I bid you to dress and gather any materials you might use on our journey to the border. I will stand outside the door as you make yourself ready. Call out to me when you have done so." The Elf cast her gilded gaze over his face before she exited the room and he was once again alone.

How did she manage to affect such a cold yet mischievous glint in those eyes?!

Kili grumbled as he rubbed the pink from his face and quickly pulled the silken shirt over his head. _How am I ever going to get any answers out of her when all she need do is _smile _at me and I am undone? _The dwarf sighed and saw for the first time what he had gotten himself into. Mired in an unknown forest with not an ally to call upon? He could handle that. Forced to rely on a beautiful temptress that made clarity of thought nigh impossible? It was a new obstacle entirely.

_Perhaps I am not ready for such a challenge. _

Kili grinned to himself as he tightened his belt over his tunic. _Then again, I've never shied from one before_. The dwarf curled his fingers happily over the decorated leather that now encased his palms. It felt so right to have his body clothed in stiff fabric and unrelenting leather. Thin, soft things were a strictly unwanted when it came to travel and war. _In good time_, he muttered. In good time he would extract the details of his relationship with the elves from Tauriel. Was he their prisoner? Guest? Tool? And once he had this information, perhaps he could secure a little more to satisfy even his Uncle.

* * *

><p>The dwarf and his escort exited the palace with a swift but easy stride.<p>

It was unnerving to Kili, who had left the palace the first time under the heat of a cover-blown and an enemy ambush, to now stride down those same paths so languorously. He looked up at the sentries along their path and above on the castle's walls. They stood unanimously in stark silence. Some soldiers patrolled along their paths with slow, graceful gaits. Others stood as still as stone. Regardless of their state of motion, all watched the dwarf with sharp eyes under the brim of bronze helms.

Kili had never before felt so much like prey. His grip on his bow tightened. It too had been returned to him. He was glad to have his person restored to the manner in which he had entered the Woodland Realm. However, he was very aware of the price to his well-being. _Those elf eyes will follow me long after we have left this place_. The sensation of being at the Fair Fey's power for the duration of his time in the trees caused a hot stirring in his blood._ They are waiting! Waiting for me to make the slightest mistake! Then they will take me as their prisoner forever._ The dwarf released a slow breath and turned his attention to the cobbled path before him. He tried to hide his limp. Though he had made sure to stretch his leg out and keep it limber with endless pacing in the room, he had not prepared himself for the sensation on walking on hard, unforgiving ground. Each footfall upon a rock or dense pack of earth sent a tiny tendril of pain up his thigh. Kili clenched his jaw and kept his hand from hovering over the bandages beneath his breeches. Perhaps Tauriel was right… Perhaps he truly did need a couple more days before his flesh knitted and the pain abated completely.

The dwarf kept his face clean of all these thoughts. He followed close to Tauriel as they passed various gateways and battlements. To his keen eyes, it seemed that the elves of this fortress did not use some of the weapons Kili had seen in Erebor. Bastillas and other large crossbows were strangely absent from the elevations of walls and towers. The only defense and offense the elves seemed to employ were the soldiers themselves. Shining bows graced every back, and hundreds of quivers of arrows were hung alongside the torches of the walls. Kili also felt his eyes catch on the sabers each soldier wore at their wastes. Similar blades dangled from Tauriel's side as well. The dwarf found himself intrigued, despite the wariness the elven army inspired in him. _They are trained strictly for melee combat. For fighting Orcs and spiders with their bare hands, or their arrows if the distance calls for them_. Perhaps there was wisdom in respecting one's enemy.

Kili bundled the feeling away as Tauriel stopped. They had reached the outermost wall of the palace. Tauriel exchanged a handful of words in her language with the soldiers posted there. They cast their hazel eyes upon him for a second before returning them to the maiden. She was explaining her plans! What he would give to know the Woodland tongue as well as she knew his. Kili stewed in silence. He noted distantly the friendliness, and reverence, the soldiers displayed to Tauriel. One of them even lifted a hand to clasp her shoulder warmly. They all smiled at each other before a signal was shouted up and the heavy doors were pulled open. Tauriel gave the men another nod before continuing on through the doors.

These were her friends. Her comrades. Kili didn't spare the tall, armored figures a glance when he passed them, but he was sobered by the fact that the elven captain was deliberately leaving her home to tend to him and his delivery to the border. _I am sure she is as close with her kinsmen as I am with mine. They are her fellow soldiers. They are her brothers. Such are the times we live in._

Kili frowned as he again noticed his feelings for the elves being kinder than the situation called for. He owed the creatures no respect! Not after their treatment of him and his kin. Yet…yet they had saved his life. And the dynamics between the soldiers, never mind their mad king, strangely reminded him of the relationships he had seen every day between the Dwarfs of his homeland.

Such ruminations faded as the doors closed resolutely behind them. Kili gazed up at the tall, tall trees and felt his breath catch. He must have been a long time dizzied by the pain of his wound, because the sight he now experienced was not a new one. Yet the sensations of witnessing the forest again felt like he was for the first time witnessing the towering trees. They reached as high as small mountain spires, almost as if their branches touched the clouds themselves! Even the light that dripped through the canopy seemed to have filtered through a thousand leaves. The effect was a landscape that was covered in dark, amber light. The brightest of sunbeams never found this place.

Kili swallowed thickly and blinked away the giant trees of amber foliage from his mind. "Let us set out," Tauriel called. She began walking without a second look behind her. The dwarf mirrored her attitude. He still felt elven eyes on his back. It pleased him to cross the series of bridges that led them deeper into the forest. The more distance they could put between themselves and the palace, the better.

His spirit was high as we walked besides Tauriel. He was out of his room, his opulent prison, at last! He could once more feel the air on his skin and in his lungs. He breathed in deeply and appreciated the carpet of leaves that cushioned his footfalls. The foliage provided less pain in his leg than the stones did. What he appreciated the most was being removed from the Woodland king's overbearing presence. It had grated on his nerves like the roughest rock. Though he could allow his constitution to soften towards Tauriel and her comrades, he would never bear the king any goodwill. _He_ had been the one to watch Erebor fall before his feet. _He_ had treated Thorin no better than a petty thief. And he had been the one to bring out the latest uncanny change in Tauriel's disposition.

He gave her a furtive look as she led him through the trees. Her face was still blankly statuesque. No light sparkled in those crystalline eyes. Her strides were quick and methodical. She definitely was not enjoying her freedom as much as Kili was. He sighed. But, the desire to pry into her inner thoughts was not yet strong enough to force his tongue. So he remained silent.

Their path was fairly straight. However, though their direction and pace hardly changed, the scenery preformed an obvious transformation. It was unnerving to Kili to feel the air become noticeably heavier and viler. After an hour of walking, he was forced to keep his breaths shallow to avoid fully tasting the fallowness. Too, the amber trees had lost their glow. Where once leaf and bark had been illuminated by dappled light, they now seemed sick with a saturating shade. It had perplexed the dwarf, as he left the palace, why such gilded trees and fresh air had troubled him so upon his first visit to Mirkwood. It all made sense now. The deeper one ventured into the forests, the darker the atmosphere seemed to grow. At their latest location, the foliage was grey and the air toxic. It had nearly driven his companions and him mad before the….the…

"Spiders!" he cried. Kili swiftly pulled his bow from around his shoulders and notched an arrow. He aimed it at the treetops, eyes frantically darting from branch to branch. The archer let his battle instincts take over. His ears sharpened and his eyes noted every movement among the leaves and sticks. He held his crouched position for many moments. After no threat made itself known, Kili tentatively loosened the tautness of his bowstring. "There are no spiders here, Master Dwarf," Tauriel told him softly. He blinked and looked up to her. Her eyes were still ahead, coldly scanning the path they had yet to tread. "Are you certain?" he asked, blood still pumping through his veins. The elf's words eased him a bit. Enough for him to fix his bow back on its place across his chest. But the arrow remained in his fingers. "Last time, the demons ambushed my company out of nowhere; they sprang right out of the air!" The elf continued to walk calmly forwards. "My King Thranduil deploys many patrols to cover a radius farther still than where we currently stand. I can personally vouch for the safety of this area." With that, she resumed her brisk pace. Kili gave the trees another once-over before returning the arrow to his quiver. The dwarf was slightly abashed to admit that his body required a much swifter speed to match the Elf's slower one. He moved to the necessary pace to reach the maiden's side.

He decided that their silence had lasted long enough.

"So, it is only the outermost edges of the forest that house the spiders?" he asked, repressing a twitch as another thread of pain wrapped itself around his thigh. The forest floor had grown harder. Kili guessed it was because the leaves were already so thin and brittle upon the branches they hung. When the time came for them to break off and drift down to the ground, it didn't take the leaves long to fracture into a myriad of tiny flakes. Kili walked on the flakey floor and found his wound throbbing more than usual. The poison was gone, of this he was certain. All that remained was for the injury to heal as any other puncture wound. And this, according to past experience, was no easy task. The dwarf sighed._ If only the bastard had shot me in the arm. I don't have to _walk _on those._

Tauriel eventually answered him. "This forest is large, Master Dwarf, and-," Kili cut her off before she could continue. "Please, Tauriel," he said. The elf looked down at him with a raised brow. He was pleased to see that the iciness of her gaze had receded for a moment. "I would prefer you called me by my given name: Kili." He gave her a winning grin. Tauriel nodded and turned away. He caught a small smile hanging on her lips. "Very well, Master Kili. This forest is large and though a great deal is monitored and nursed by my people, there is still an expanse left that is too tainted to be cleaned permanently." The smile disappeared as her thoughts gripped her. "In fact, it is a perpetual battle to keep even a little of this forest clean. The spiders and the darkness never tire. As quickly as we dispatch them in one tree, they appear with full strength in another." She looked over at him to give a glimpse of hard gold. "Such is the evil of Dol Goldur." With a flick of her orange braid, her face turned back to the path.

Kili frowned as he followed. It was a shame… A shame that no place seemed at peace anymore, at least, not the places he had visited. His home was poisoned with a despotic dragon. Tauriel's forest was sickened with spiders. And all the lands in between carried with them one problem or another. Famine, orc-raids, fear. A shadow had crept over the world. He could feel in his spirit. _That is why the wizard travels with us,_ Kili thought to himself. He had to admit, despite all the goodness Gandalf had shown them, it was unusual for a magical folk to associate himself with the dwarves. In fact, Kili had not even known of wizards' existence before their meeting at the hobbit's dwelling. He had not thought to question Gandalf's motifs for sticking so persistently to the dwarven company. _Perhaps he too longs for the destruction of the dark… And Smaug is among the darkest of them all._

The pair stopped occasionally to eat and drink. It was hard to grasp the passage of time in the forest, considering the light was perpetually dim and hazy. But the dimness was gradually thickening. It had been hours since they had set off from the palace. In a handful more of hours, darkness would fall upon them. Kili bit into an apple and considered what awaited them. The more distance they crossed and the more the light faded, the higher chance they ran at encountering the bane of the forest's life. The spiders. He shivered as he remembered the feeling of their webs wrapped tightly around his skin like slimy, thin ropes. Being swaddled up like flies was not an experience he intended to repeat. Kili swallowed down the fruit core and adjusted his bow. It was such a natural feeling- the smooth wood of his bow's length against his palm, wood he had carved and shaped himself. The easy weight of his arrows in the nook of his shoulder blades. He would smite the spiders should they come at him. No one was as quick an archer as he, aside from only the elves themselves.

The Dwarf turned to say something to Tauriel when his stomach rumbled. She looked at him curiously and he chuckled. She offered him another apple and he declined. He craved_ meat_. His stomach was not at all accustomed to a steady diet of fruit and bread. "Would you take offense to my shooting of a bird, should we come across one?" he asked, nodding in thanks when she passed him a water-skin. Kili took several deep swallows and returned it. The water did much to alleviate his spirits. His leg had been beginning to affect him. Walking at a somewhat hurried pace for their journey had taken its toll. Sitting to eat and drink were opportunities he enjoyed because, though they did little to fill his stomach, they allowed him to take his weight off of the aching limb. Tauriel followed his hand as he rubbed his thigh without thinking. "I would not advise eating the creatures of these trees. The foul air makes their flesh just as vile." Kili cursed silently. He should have shot a bird or beast much earlier. _Durin knows I've been hungry since we set out on this accursed trip_. The Dwarf ran a hand tiredly through his hair. His leg gave a twinge as if to mirror his mental discomfort. Tauriel stood up and packed away their food. "There is, however, a station nearby that has clean meals for soldiers and sentries." She tied her sack to her waist. Killi took a moment to marvel at the efficiency of her hands. She tied leather cords and wrapped up supplies as well as a practiced soldier should. The elf's eyes fell to his leg. "It is still a distance away." The golden irises flashed up to his face. "I would ask to carry you once again, Master Kili." He felt warmth creep into his cheeks. She had noticed his limp.

"Think nothing of it, Tauriel," he replied. He slapped his leg heartily and stood up. The resulting pain was stalwartly ignored. He walked around her to emphasize his resolve. "We dwarves are made of sterner stuff. *Aule himself cast my forefathers from the rocks of the mountains. Some would call our heads as thick has stones." He rapped on his head with a knuckle and the Elf smiled. He truly enjoyed the sight. "I trust your toughness," she laughed to him. She crossed her arms and analyzed his leg again. "It is the arrow-wound that I do not trust." The maiden knelt and gave the tissue close to the puncture a quick jab. A hiss escaped his clenched jaw and she stood. "It pains you. You have done much walking today, Master Kili. Please, for the sake of optimal healing, allow me to aid you." He looked at her sourly. The jab had been unnecessary to prove her point. The dwarf rubbed at his leg again. _Though_, he conceded, _I would never have shown her my suffering if she hadn't forced as much..._ And suffer he did. What had begun as a simple ache had escalated to radiating discomfort. He looked at the supplies the elf carried. She had deliberately strapped nothing to her back. The space had remained curiously clear since she entered her room. Which meant that she had planned to carry him from the start! Kili felt his ire build. The elf did much without asking his consent. Saving his life, taking him to her kingdom. Prolonging his stay so that he may heal to aid his countrymen. _Gah. How can I begrudge such actions?_ The anger faded but Kili gave her an irritated glare none-the-less. "I do not need pampering," he said tersely. He fiddled with the engravings on his belt. He loathed to rely on the elf. _My limping will slow us down, though not by much. But she's right… Straining myself does more harm than remedy it. _"Though, I see the wisdom in accepting. You can walk quicker than I. And the faster we are out of this miasma, the better." His brown eyes met hers in acquiescence. Tauriel knelt with a grin it was obvious she was trying to contain. "Do not assume that I am attempting to coddle you, Kili," she said softly. Before he knew what was going on, the Elf had grasped him by his belt and hurled him against her. Kili had to desperately clasp her waist with his legs and her neck with his arms to keep from falling as she swiftly stood. She remained standing and tossed an amused glance over her shoulder. "You were correct, however, when addressing my quickness."

_Oh no._

The maiden clasped the backs of his thighs, his injured one more gingerly than the other, and propelled off the ground with a giant leap. Kili tightened his grip fiercely around the elf. He had never soared through the air as he did now. The dank wind rushed against his face like a storm gale! And as the ground sank farther and farther beneath them as the pair shot through the air, so with it sank his stomach. Kili closed his eyes to keep from vomiting up his lunch and buried his face against Tauriel's shirt. _She is mad!_ he shouted fearfully in his thoughts. Though it felt like ages, in a moment they had stopped moving. The elf landed nimbly on a tree branch in a crouch. She then rose languidly into a standing position. It took Kili a little longer to compose himself. He loosened his severe grip around her throat and sucked in some steadying breaths.

_Dwarves are made for the ground. The __**ground**__. Not for soaring through the air like falcons!_

Tauriel watched him with a familiar, mischievous visage. "I-I have never done that before," he stammered out. He was not afraid. Definitely not! But he had never been one for climbing high trees with thin branches and no safety lines. High, stable mountain peaks he had no trouble with. This, however, was quite a different situation indeed. "Would the ground not be safer?" he called slowly, working out which grip displayed the least amount of fright. He settled on a medium-hold around Tauriel's waist as she supported his legs. "L-last I remember, the spiders came from the tree tops to snare us in their traps." Tauriel's countenance was nothing if not calm. The coolness had returned. "They do strike from tree branches, Master Kili. But I will travel at a height they dare not spin their webs. They are too large, you see, to be supported by high branches. Also, their prey live at a lower elevations than the one we will be occupying." She adjusted his seat on her lower back before bending at the knees. He could physically feel her summon her sizeable strength and pool it in her legs and feet. "Hold on to me," she called. Kili swallowed thickly. _Here we go again!_ She pushed off the tree branch and glided over to the next. Up here, the air was slightly less fallow. Kili almost appreciated the somewhat-clear coolness that cascaded against his face as the elf moved gracefully through the leaves. It helped him breathe easier despite the high frequency of his breaths. From branch to branch she danced. Each was only a couple of his steps apart, so dense was the canopy of the forest. The maiden moved with a fluidity that he had never before witnessed. It was as if she drifted in the breeze as weightless as a feather. Yet when her feet made contact with a branch, he could feel the twisting of her sinews as strong as metal.

She was beautiful.

This continuous display of absolute grace and control soon had the rigidness draining form Kili's posture. He took in a slow breath. His lungs had finally relaxed back into their normal rhythm. The dwarf closed his eyes and rested his brow against the Tauriel's shoulder. He listened idly to the sound of her feet against bark. Jump, hit, jump, hit. He couldn't believe how lightly she fluttered between the trees, with a heavy passenger no less. They had likely traveled leagues with the litheness of the elf's leaps.

In no time at all, Kili's wound had ceased its annoying ache. The absence of pain was a load of his thoughts. This gave him the opportunity to ruminate on other mysteries that he hadn't quite solved. He watched the foliage flow by him in a brown-grey current as his mind worked. The speed of the scenery and the feel of the wind were very reminiscent of flying. The Dwarf didn't remember much of his flight with the Eagles. He had been dealing with a serious of injuries compiled from falling down a rocky gorge, a Goblin king collapsing upon him and a layer of heavy debris, a frantic climb up a tree under the pursuit of bloodthirsty Wargs, and flaming pinecones searing his fingertips. The rest of his attention had been centered on his Uncle. Whether or not the King still lived had been unknown to him at the time, though the sight of Thorin's limp body in the eagle's talons had instilled an icy dread in his heart.

But, had he actually paid attention to the feeling of flight, he imagined it would feel a lot like holding onto Tauriel as she glided through the forest.

The elf jumped tirelessly through acres of trees before Kili was ready to voice some of his thoughts.

"Tauriel?" he said closely to her ear. She did not turn to him. Surely, she was focused on keeping her balance and choosing the sturdiest of branches to land upon. "I am listening," she eventually replied. "I have no place to ask, but it weighs upon my conscience like a slab of stone. I would very much like such a pressure relieved. So…might I inquire…what troubles you?"

She did not display an overt reaction to his words. He only felt her fingers tighten slightly on his legs. "The sickness of my home troubles me, Master Kili. But it has always been thus." She stooped low on a branch that she had recently made contact with and vaulted herself high into the air. The dwarf frowned against the fabric of her tunic. "Yes, I understand. I am sorry about such a thing. Truly. But is there not something more recent that presses on your conscience?" Kili had noticed the coldness of her demeanor from the moment she had walked into her room that morning. It was time he cured her of such a chronic chill. The elf continued her aerial acrobatics for a while before she felt compelled to respond. "Why do you care?" she asked, without malice. It felt strange to Kili, then, that he could be so physically close to the woman who had helped him on so much on his journey, yet still be emotionally distant from her. But she posed a good question. Why _did_ he care?

She was just some elf. A creature he had never actually met before Thorin assembled the company. Sure, all of his kin knew of the treachery of King Thranduil and were taught a very specific brand of scorn towards the king and his people. His first experience with the elves in the Mirkwood dungeons, if anything, should have served only to confirm an already solid hatred of the tall, unfeeling fey. But Tauriel had proved all of those lessons wrong. She had been stunning, yes. But more than that. She had talked with him like an equal. Of stars and moons and life. Then, she had gone on to steal him away from the clutches of certain death. Only those of his own family had ever preformed such a feat.

To put it simply: "You saved my life, Tauriel. I can at least try to value yours in the way you did mine," he told her fiercely. He meant every word of this proclamation. This gave the elf pause. When she landed upon the next branch, she made no immediate move to leave it. Her flashing eyes met his. Kili could see her chest rise in breath. She had traveled nearly two hours with him clutched to her back. She was only now showing signs of fatigue. Very faint signs, at that.

Her eyes searched his for a long moment. Kili was aware of how close their faces were. He could feel the tepidness of her breaths as she watched him. He noticed the petal-like pinkness of her lips. The exotic speckling of emerald green in her eyes. She tilted her face to look at the ground far beneath them. "That…was a very kind thing to say," she whispered.

The Dwarf let out the breath he hadn't been aware he was holding. He longed to slide to his feet and stand next to her. But, he had the strong suspicion that they still had a ways to travel. He opted for loosening his grip and leaning back. Tauriel deserved her space. Though, deep down, he relished being so close to her. It was something he dared not admit openly to himself. Kili shook his head and waited for his cheeks to cool. The quick falling darkness helped him with this endeavor. He was surprised that Tauriel was able to be so sure-footed in the shade. Then again, the maiden did everything expertly.

"Your honesty deserves mine. To put it simply, Master Kili, I disobeyed direct orders from my King to follow your company to Laketown. I abandoned my comrade Legolas there to tend to your wound and, now, by bringing you here, I have thrice opposed my King's rule. My punishment is exile to the forest's border. There, I will await Legolas' arrival. It is my duty to see him back home."

Kili felt like a cold rock had been dumped into his stomach. "So, once Legol….once your comrade returns, you will be allowed back to the palace?" The captain shook her head. A lock of orange hair had fallen over her brow. It added to the shadows in her gaze. "No. I will escort Legolas to his father and then serve the rest of my days in patrol around the border. It is an honor to serve my people in the manner my King sees fit." The elf blinked slowly and then looked at him. She was not upset. Her mouth was still soft and her skin still tan. But there were something in those eyes. Something fierce and wild, like a writhing candle flame contained under a glass lens.

Did she resent her king's choice? Or did she have a plan to once more defy him?

"You…will not be allowed to see your family again?" This, to Kili, was his biggest conflict with Thranduil's sentence upon Tauriel. He had felt more than a little guilty when the elf listed her indiscretions against the Crown. _They were all done on my behalf. _And though he blamed himself, he blamed the Woodland monarch more for his harsh judgment. _She had been protecting me! An innocent. I would've marched right up to that king and defended Tauriel to my last breath! Had I even been invited to her trial, that was. _But the king did not value the words of a dwarf. That much was strikingly evident. He clearly did not value the compassion of his captains, either. "He can't do that!" Kili cried, clenching his fists. "He can't keep you from the ones who love you! Who raised you!" The thought of being barred from Fili for the rest of his days was enough to make his blood boil with rage. "Turn back, Tauriel," he suddenly bid her. The maiden's eyes went wide. "I am serious," Kili urged. "I need to have a word with your king. How could he know how brave you were in pursuing those orcs? How brilliant you were in using a simple herb, a plant that to this day still mystifies me with its properties, to save me? There is too much that has been left unsaid!" he said, his volume rising with every word. In moments, Kili was struggling to reach the tree's bark in order to start walking back to the palace by foot. The elf quickly countered his efforts. After a moment of ineffectual squirming, he stooped with a sigh against Tauriel's shoulders.

He looked into her face gruffly, frustrated at being so easily pinned down. "There is no need, Kili," she said, the faint tinkling of laughter in her voice. His anger receded and he looked at her questioningly. "I do not regret my actions. Thus, I am willing to serve this sentence. Perhaps in due time, I can make an appeal to my King and see my mother again and resume my position in the palace's Guard. But I must follow Thranduil's wishes for now. His word is law and he has proved himself a very capable leader to the Woodland Realm, of this I assure you." Kili sighed. "You know him better than I do," the Dwarf conceded reluctantly. Tauriel nodded. "Thank you, though, for your willingness to help me," she smiled. He smiled back.

The two shared the easy warmth between them until the sun had fallen far beneath the horizon. The evening's light added a thin sliver of white to the silhouettes of tall trunks and thousands of sharp leaves. Kili blinked and looked around him in surprise. _How had night fallen so quickly?_

Tauriel looked on at the trees in the darkness. "It's not all bad, you know," he wondered out loud. The elf quirked an eyebrow, though he wasn't completely sure in the night. The darkness was lovingly clasped in the arms of the trees. It was as if the forest preferred shadow to light. "Oh?" Tauriel began jumping again. This time, he clung to her comfortably. "You will be able to behold more of the world. Beyond your trees, there are so many things to see! Some of the better sights being those of mountains and gems, I must personally attest to," the dwarf said. The thought of mountains had him thinking of his lost home. The company had raised Fili and him on many tales of the Lonely Mountain. Though he had never visited it in person, the stories had made him feel like he had beheld the sights with his own eyes. Thorin had spoken regularly of the dazzling dining halls of his grandfather, rainbows of crystals and streams of precious metals dripping down every wall. Of ceilings so high it was if they were the sky themselves!- diamonds and quartz shining like stars in the inky surfaces.

Yes, the elf still had much to see. Maybe he would show her Erebor someday… She deserved as much, after the services she had done him.

_Will…will I ever see her again, after I leave these trees?_

The thought made him strangely cold. Kili settled his face once more against her shoulders. He could not close his eyes.

"I was thinking much of the same thing, Master Kili," Tauriel said dreamily. The dwarf smiled to himself. _There she goes again with the honorifics._ It was proving quite the experience, unraveling the complex puzzle that was Tauriel. Sometimes she seemed so old. So cool and calculating. But other times…other times she could leap through the wind as if she was air itself.

"Look there," Tauriel said suddenly. Kili blinked and searched the darkness drenching his vision. He could see nothing remarkable. Just before he said as much, something caught his eye. It was a pinprick of light. He rubbed his face and looked again. The flicker of light remained. "I….I see a light?" he wondered. The elf nodded. She danced confidently through the dark, the speck of glow guiding her forwards. "Yes. There lies the station I told you about. It is just over those trees that we will find food for dinner and shelter in which to rest for the night."

At the mention of food, Kili almost fainted with relief. "Never has news brought me more happiness," Kili moaned, clenching at his grumbling stomach.

Tauriel's tinklimg laughter echoed out through the dark.

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><p>Hey guys! Some more words:<p>

*Aule was the Valar responsible with the creation of the Dwarves. He made the first of the Seven Fathers of the Dwarves in a hall under the mountains of Middle-earth. From the Silmarillion: "Since they were to come in the days of the power of Melkor (Morgoth), Aule made the Dwarves strong to endure. Therefore they are stone-hard, stubborn, fast in friendship and in enmity, and they suffer toil and they live long, far beyond the span of Men, yet not for ever."

How's that for some good ol' Lord of the Rings trivia? It's always a pleasure to write about Tolkien's amazing creations.

Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Kili has certainly done some good introspection. Next chapter, it's Tauriel's turn!

Review please! And _thank you_ for reading.


	5. Chapter 5

Hey all!

Before I begin, I just want to say that I have re-edited and re-posted all the previous chapters because there were so many little grammar mistakes and repetition of words. I will definitely re-read all oncoming chapters before I post them. Sorry!

So, I'm thinking of finishing this off in three more chapters. I apologize that it's taken me sooooo very long to update. I have but the regular excuses: college, life, etcetera. Anyway, I'm going to try to crank all of these out within the next week or so.

Thank you so much for all who have read and reviewed. It's been very encouraging and I hope you like what's to come.

*Special thanks to 'Cathera' for pointing out some important problems with the first chapters. Also thank you 'anddante' for your wonderful support!

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><p><strong>Chapter Five<strong>

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><p>Tauriel smiled warmly at Kili's exclamation of relief upon hearing of their future dinner. She had truly enjoyed talking with him throughout the day. He had a passion that she had seldom seen among her own cool kind and a fierceness that made her admire all of his friends and fear for his enemies. That moment, with the warmth of the Dwarf pressed comfortably to her back and the nubile warmth in her heart growing at their refreshingly easy conversations, was a thing she could have lingered in for centuries.<p>

The captain then turned back to the sentry quarters aloft in the nearby tree.

The warmth was instantly doused as she remembered the chill of the night. The sickness of the leaves and roots all around her colored her thoughts and she felt the coldness of her usual demeanor creep back into her chest.

Tauriel let her right foot mold around the branch of her perch. Then, with a brisk snap of her arch, she powerfully propelled them up into the darkness. She soared for a couple heartbeats through the dank air before landing soundlessly on the limb outside a hidden entrance.

The station was as inconspicuous as Elven ingenuity could allow. To a stray observer, it looked only like a small bulging out of the tree's bark, as if some large tumor swelled underneath. The walls of the two-story station were intentionally curved to allow this effect. The bark outside the walls matched perfectly the grey skin and creeping black moss of the tree's complexion. It was a grand illusion and had kept the sentries that held their posts within safe from many a spider attack.

Tauriel crouched carefully on the branch and put her lips to the seam between the station's only door and the bark of the tree. Kili clung to her as he struggled to remain on her back. She clasped him more tightly and whispered 'friend' in the Sindarin language. Instantly, a fiery glow bled out through the seam. The door opened and Tauriel slipped inside.

It sealed silently behind her and the elf breathed out a small sigh.

"A floor under my feet, at last!" Kili said and eagerly squirmed his way down her body. Tauriel moved to accommodate him. The room looked small from the outside but, as elf magic often provided, was much bigger inside. There was adequate space to allow even tall elves to walk upright and it was as wide as two measures of arms from fingertip to fingertip. It surely felt more than comfortable to the dwarf next to her. Kili stretched his legs happily and eyed with obvious fascination at the small glow rock in the wall that provided the only source of light for the two rooms. Tauriel smiled thinly but veiled it as two soldiers came from the above room to greet them.

Kili went stone still as the elves dropped from the opening in the roof and approached them. She felt the tension enter his stance and moved so that he was slightly behind her. Both were clad in the traditional bronze armor of the Woodland Guard, though it was more muted and closefitting for the sentries. "Welcome, Captain Tauriel. We've been expecting you," said the darker of the two. His brown hair framed an angular face with thin lips. He bowed slightly to her before the disapproval of noticing the dwarf's presence made those lips even thinner. "Officer Umetir," she responded with a stiff nod. The other sentry bowed but said nothing. A heavy silence fell upon the group as all eyes avoided Kili's flashing ones. The whine of leather was heard as the dwarf clenched his fists.

"Thulien, do you have any pheasants left?" she asked quickly. "My companion and I are in need of replenishment after today's journey." The elf looked to his superior for answer. Umetir watched her carefully. He was considering whether or not to lie to her. After a moment, his soldierly discipline won out against his prejudice. "Yes, Captain." He dropped another frown in Kili's direction before he met her eyes. "This way."

Tauriel glanced at Kili. His efforts to suppress his prickling pride did not go unnoticed. She tried to soothe him with a small nod. _Stay here_, she bid silently before following. The dwarf growled but complied. Umetir jumped with inherent skill up to the second floor. Tauriel bounded up and landed gently by his side. Both rooms were small and strictly sparse. There existed only a single cabinet in which meat and fruit were stored and two adjacent chests. One chest contained spare sabers and the tools required to maintain them and the other stored bedding materials. Barrels of water were hidden on the lower floor. Bows and quivers of arrows lined the circumference of both rooms. They were obviously the most precious pieces in the entire station. The armored elf opened the cabinet and pulled out a bundle wrapped in blades of grass. The flora in the nearby vicinity was too polluted to be used for any purpose. Instead, supplies of bales of palace-grown grass to package with and water were transported to every station regularly, along with fresh fruit and medicine. The grass, infused with magic, kept food fresh and without taint for months. The package handed to Tauriel was filled with slivers of meat stripped from a large bird. With oily black plumage and a tendency to feed on carrion, the bird was not the first choice in meals. But there was little else left in the forest that was not too deeply tainted by the sickness of Mirkwood. The meat had been vigorously cleansed with water and magic to make it safely edible. "Kili will require one as well," Tauriel said to her fellow soldier, holding out an expectant hand.

Umetir gave her a searching look and closed the cabinet's doors. "Captain, surely you are not asking me to forfeit the little resources we have at this station to a _dwarf_." He looked slightly alarmed as he met the golden eyes of the maiden, seeing in them her angry answer. "It is my duty to transport him to the border. _Him_, officer. Not his dead body. I will have him eat and sleep peacefully this night so we can get a fresh start tomorrow. Please hand me another bundle." Her voice was like Mithril. Umetir stared at her with his hand unmoving on the cabinet's door. He knew his obedience was required in such a scenario, for she outranked him. Tauriel did not have much of a past with Umetir and Thulien. They were adept swordsmen and archers, but then again, there lived no Mirkwood warrior who was not. They had crossed paths multiple times in the palace and had always shown each other respect though not outright friendliness.

With one breath and the next, Tauriel found herself empty of even shallow courtesy for Umetir. If he could not see the dwarf as anything more than an enemy, he needed to be shown reason- whether or not it was her place to give it. She absolutely refused to humor such pettiness. Tauriel moved her hand to clasp Umetir's shoulder and glared meaningfully into his eyes. "As my kinsmen and comrade, I bid you to trust my judgment, Umetir. I understand that you do not welcome this dwarf. But he is my mission. Surely you can honor this." She hoped desperately to find something in his gaze that confirmed that the bonds between Mirkwood soldiers and that their duties to King and forest outweighed all selfish ideologies.

His brown eyes narrowed and his lips turned down in grimace. "I apologize, Captain, but for the sake of _my_ mission, I must keep our resources here where they are most needed. The dwarf must go without." He brushed by her and dropped through the hole onto the first floor. Tauriel sighed. Umetir's hostility was muted but spoke volumes. She was glad he so quickly left the room; they had nothing more to say to each other. The maiden opened the cabinet and grabbed a couple pieces of fruit and stuffed them into the pack on her waist. Then she slipped down to rejoin her travel companion.

Kili was doing his best to treat the two elves sitting near the center of the room like distasteful furniture. Umetir had taken out his blade and was running a whetstone slowly up and down its gleaming edge. Thulien re-strung his bow and cast the dwarf disapproving glares in between adjustments of string and wood.

"Here, Master Kili." Her voice dissolved the thickening hostility in atmosphere. The dwarf blinked and looked up to her. She handed him the bundle of meat and felt Umetir's startled gaze on her back. "What is this?" He held it at arm's length as if it was a rabid animal. Tauriel grinned and undid the twisting of stems that held the leaves closed. They unfurled to reveal the pinkish food inside. Kili's eyes went wide before he looked at the two soldiers. Then he scowled and turned away from Tauriel. "I wish to eat in private. Down there in the dirt," Kili said harshly, jutting his chin in the direction of the ground, "where my people belong." Tauriel heard Thulien snigger behind her and she refused to acknowledge him. "I will join you outside. However, it is not safe to leave the branches. I will guide you to a secure location," she said as she moved to the door. She ran her fingers over the surface and pushed the hidden bar that undid the latch. Kili exited into the dark swiftly with a final growl at the two men. The maiden at last turned to face them with her hand on the wooden trigger.

"Officers, do not wait for us to return. I bid you to retire at your leisure. I will fetch cots for the dwarf and myself from the supply chests and we will make our beds on the upper room. Good night." Tauriel kept her tone neutral and nodded courteously. Then she left with their disgruntled whispers following her out and closed the door.

She had considered showing them her anger at their impudent treatment of her companion. Anger had, however, gotten her nowhere with Umetir. The two sentries were her comrades by blood and duty but aggressors and rivals to the dwarf. Nothing done in the span of this night would change such century-old behavior...

The elf closed her eyes sadly in the shadows of the dark.

* * *

><p>Tauriel found Kili clinging to the branch outside the door for dear life. His arms and legs were wrapped around the limb with enough strength to snap it like a twig. She quickly pulled him off despite his protests and settled him on the small of her back. "Don't you ever let me walk out on a branch alone!" he growled roughly into her ear. His arms gripped her neck like he would never let go. The elf shook her head, wondering where her mind was. "Forgive me, Master Kili," she sighed. "I am out of sorts." The dwarf did not respond. Anger still radiated from his skin like heat. Anger at her. Anger at the sentries.<p>

Tauriel jumped up into the coolness of the night and basked in the chill. It felt good to be out of the small station. While she had visited it many times and gotten along quite nicely with the other soldiers that had accompanied her, the tension and angst bottled up in the sentry quarters at the present had been too uncomfortable to endure. She looked up at the white rimmed leaves as she leapt higher and higher like a falcon chasing the wind. Soon she was at a height where the air was almost fresh and the stink of rotting bark only a subtle scent. The moonlight was doing its best to break through the canopy and hung on select leaves like drops of pearly dew.

The maiden let Kili take a seat on the branch with his body next to the trunk for security. He wrapped both arms around it and struggled not to look down. Tauriel wished she could free him from his fear of heights but she knew that no dwarf would ever feel at ease in a tall tree. Only an unshakeable mountain would feel like a safe haven. The elf considered asking Kili if this was true but decided against it. His nerves were still on edge.

_The night air will do him good._

Tauriel dug into her pack and pulled out a fruit. It was a plum with a very savory brand of sweetness. She took a bite and enjoyed the sugar that coated her tongue and throat.

After a moment's silence, she looked to Kili. He held his wrapped meat in one hand and kept the other glued to the tree. There was no way he could eat in such a position.

"Do not fear, Master Kili. I will not let you fall," she urged in gentle tones.

He glared at her and then looked away. "At the moment, I don't trust that any elf particularly cares about my health. Or if I survive at all, for that matter." He moved bodily away from her, pressing himself more firmly against the bark. The air seemed to suddenly drop in temperature.

Tauriel frowned and felt her heart sink. "Master Kili-." "And would you _stop_ with the Master This and Master That! Drop the pretenses, Tauriel. You may be comrades with those unpleasant folk back in that station, but we are far less than that." He turned to look at her then. His eyes flashed with rage like embers. She was not used to seeing him so riled up. It was the look she had seen him turn on the Orcs that pursued the company during their escape from the palace. It was the look he had turned on the spiders before he pierced them with his arrows.

_Am I…his enemy?_

There were not many things that could move an elf to sadness. The death of a loved one. The dying and withering of the forest.

For one thing, the sickened state of the forest was something Tauriel had grown accustomed to. She also genuinely believed that she could bring it back to its former glory once Dol Guldur was destroyed (a task she personally planned to carry out). She always had hope that the forest would live again, even when she was a little girl.

She had seen comrades die besides her and had mourned them until wee saplings grew into a full trees that brushed the sky. The feeling of loss and grief were powerful things to the fey. Elves had been fabled to die from the inability to free themselves from grief, so intense was their suffering.

Yet Tauriel had forgotten what it was like to be sad. She had been so busy in the past decades as the evil spreading through the forest gained more strength every day.

She remembered it now. It was like an icy ache in the core of her chest.

The maiden turned away from Kili. She was cold. The night was cold and she longed for the warmth of a fire or a friend. _I wish Legolas was here. I suppose he was the one who always chased my sadness away._ And where was he? She had left him behind to fight the orcs, alone, in order to save the dwarf's life.

_Oh Legolas. My friend. What have I done?_

She heard Kili's slow sigh as the wind moaned through the branches.

"Tauriel…I didn't mean…"

She frowned and looked to the man across from her in the dark. The angry blaze was gone from his vision. In its place was a deep concern that was painted across his features like blots of ink. He released his clutch of the tree to slide closer to her on the limb. He reached his hand out and then returned it to the branch. "Tauriel, forgive me. Please do not take my words to heart," he bid her softly. She heard the guilt saturated in his voice. His tortured face strained as he struggled to move closer still without losing his balance. "I..I was angry. Furious. Your kin have shown me nothing but malice form the time they set eyes on me. It reminds me of all they've done to my people. All the things they did to my family when they locked us up in your dungeons! I had forgotten such feelings when it was just you and me. You are kind. You are brave. But then I saw those two brutes and I wanted to fight them for those sneers they were giving me! And…and…" He moved his food into his lap, hunger forgotten, and rubbed at his face with his dirty palms. When he looked to her again his irises seemed to shine like wet river stones. Perhaps it was the moonlight that minted such a wondrous effect.

"We are not less than comrades, Tauriel. That was a foolish thing to say, indeed. I owe you my life- no, more than that! Do you know why?" All she could do was blink silently. Her head was strangely blank. She felt like the breeze blew through her head and back out into the rustling leaves.

"I'll tell you why. Because you were the first elf in all my days that I have trusted. That I have respected and wanted to fight alongside. You are my friend." He set his hand down and it landed on top of hers. She never noticed that though the dwarf stood much shorter than her, his hand was quite large. Big enough to cover enough of hers that only her pale fingertips were visible.

The spark between their skin seemed to flare out in the dark.

Kili's eyes widened when he touched her. He jerked back instantly and completely ruined his attempts at balance. He pitched backwards.

He would have fallen for many moments and hit many branches during his descent to the ground. Such a fall would have broken the bones of an elf, and exacted a much more serious toll on dwarves.

But Tauriel caught him the instant he moved. It was if he had merely leaned back into the circle of her arms.

He looked at her wildly as his chest moved up and down in frantic breathing. Kili's hand clutched her upper arm with vice-like fingers. It was not painful, though Tauriel was certain that the dwarf was not aware of his trembling grip. The elf realized distantly how close their faces were. Her arms held his chest close to hers and she didn't think to release him. The dark hair across his brow fluttered with her breaths. She could see so clearly the stubble on his chin. The sable coins of his bright eyes. The maiden was acutely aware that those eyes ran all over her face as if it was a map and every feature was a vital marking that the dwarf committed to memory.

The loudness of the heartbeat under his blue tunic made her blink. Quickly, she set him away. Tauriel moved Kili closer to the trunk so he had an anchor to hold as he continued breathing heavily. She guided his hand back to the branch and retreated. The cool air eagerly filled the space in between their bodies. But Tauriel was oblivious to its chill. The dark seemed full of something new and quivering leaves sounded like the whispers of hushed secrets.

The dwarf laughed shakily after a while.

"It seems you have saved me once again, Lady Tauriel."

He looked at her as his panting turned to steady breaths. They were streaks of grey mist on the canvas of the night. His hands still shook on their places upon the bark.

The elf took her time replying. Her thoughts spun madly out of reach for an infuriating spell before she was able to pin them down. "I didn't think when I reached out to catch you, Kili."

She forced herself to drop the honorific. Perhaps they were past formalities, now. After everything they'd weathered together…

Gold eyes watched the dwarf intently.

"I saw you were falling. You would have been very hurt if you continued. So I acted." She took in a steadying breath and turned her gaze to the clenched hands on her thighs. Leather gauntlets circled her wrists. Stiff, green fabric stretched over her arms and disappeared under her leather cuirass. It was an outfit she had donned on many missions. Missions to burn webs, guard supply retinues that restocked the sentry stations, battle hordes of spiders, and even strike down the stray orc. On each mission she had been true to her personal code.

She looked at the dwarf in the dappled light of the sky that peeked through the foliage. His fierce eyes. His kind lips, so quick to smile. He was loyal and loved his kinsmen with a passion she could only hope to embody herself one day.

_I saved him because he was worth saving. _

She knew the caliber of Kili's character when he had talked to her, his jailer, of his mother and the moon. He had listened to her when she told him of the stars. He fought hard and risked his life to make safe his kinsmen. That was how he had been wounded. And it was the wound that had brought him into her care.

_I protect him because…because…_

"I act to save life. This is why I saved you in Laketown, Kili. I also act to protect that which I love." Her eyes flicked to the mark left by the poisoned arrow. His leg's bindings would need changing in the morning. She would help him do so. He had healed much already. Perhaps he could even walk the entirety of their journey the next day. He was so sturdy, so strong. And so honest.

They sat in silence as the wind danced hollowly through the leaves. The coolness brushed across their cheeks and played in their hair. Tauriel closed her eyes and felt her own heart speed up. It was a strange sensation. She wasn't going into battle. There was no threat to her life. So then…why was the blood moving so quickly through her veins?

"Kili…when I first came to you at Bard's house and treated you with Athelas, you said something to me. Something very kind and true. Very similar to the words you spoke to me earlier."

How had the night become so full of words? She had only intended to eat and listen to the whispers of the trees instead of her comrades' bitterness. But she had spoken more than she had in weeks. She might as well take the chance to clear her conscience by allowing Kili to do the same. To answer the one question that plagued her mind when it had a moment's idleness.

The dwarf watched her calmly. His initial anger and fear at almost had faded away. Now, he was once again the stone he so easily mimicked.

"Do you remember your words, Kili?"

Because she did. Vividly.

_"No, you cannot be her._

_She is far away….she is far, far away from me. _

_She walks in starlight in another world. It was just a dream…._

_Do you think she could have loved me?"_

The dwarf's pale face was illuminated in the sparse light. The wrinkles of his brow were in stark in contrast. His brow had been wrinkled in that memory, too, as his fingers grasped hers and his spirit surfaced from the darkness of its turmoil. A wrinkled visage that was thankful and distraught and so much more. It had been a wash of emotion that froze her where she stood.

The dwarf held her stare as she replayed the scene in her mind. He blinked some indistinguishable time later and shook his head.

"I'm afraid I do not, Tauriel. There is very little of the time when my wound was at its most…painful…that I remember." He gave her a rueful glance before rubbing the bandages that protected the healing puncture.

The elf smiled thinly and shook her head. "Then it is of no matter."

Both of them turned to look up at the flickering stars.

_Why do I keep thinking of the dwarf's confession?_ She wondered.

_Why did I _truly_ save him?_ Her moral code was one thing. But it had only truely applied to her people. The fair folk of her beloved Mirkwood and to the soldiers she called family. Why then had she saved a dwarf- a race she had never encountered before Thorin Oakenshield's company had wandered into their forest- and let her Prince go on by himself into an unknown land?

The maiden sighed and emptied her head. She was tired of such cyclic ruminations.

Kili began to eat. He let a noise of pure satisfaction. "Durin's Beard, I needed this!" he said around the food he chewed ravenously. He stuffed more past his lips before he could speak another syllable.

Tauriel grinned and took a similar bite of her plum.

The dwarf finished the meat in minutes. He then moved onto the remaining fruit in Tauriel's pack and finished off a water-skin's contents in two or three swallows.

He wiped his chin on his hand's leather bindings and smiled at her.

"If you still wish for words, Lady, I have some interesting ones to offer."

_So I am a 'Lady'?_

She raised a brow and adjusted her position on the branch. They would need to retire to their cots soon to receive a full sleep. And though she craved silence and the soft songs of the leaves and wind, she couldn't help but reply: "What words do you have in mind?"

The dwarf smiled his signature smirk and put the stars' twinkling to shame.

"A story. How would you like to hear about the time my brother and I rode a *Warg and tamed it as gentle as a pup?"

The elf shook her head, sensing a tall tale when she heard one, but smiled brilliantly none the less.

"I am all ears, Master Kili."

* * *

><p>Definition:<p>

A *Warg is "a Northern Mannish name for wolves, but more properly applied to the evil werewolves which apperaed in middle-earth during the Third Age and which remained to plague the wilderness ever after." -from 'The Tolkien Companion' book

What do you guys think? I know there hasn't been much action recently. But the next chapters will have action to spare. Hope this was enough for everybody!

Please review, and as always,** thank you** for reading.

-Kirin


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

* * *

><p>Kili was awoken by a prodding from a thin hand which, almost immediately, he recognized to be Tauriel's. He blinked dazedly while he gathered his wits.<p>

He hadn't even noticed falling asleep. The Elf and he had rolled out their beddings of tweed and cotton on the circular floor when the night had grown too old. The area allotted by the space was so small that most of it was covered by the cots. Even so, the Dwarf had to contort himself into strange positions to accommodate the tall maiden curled across from him _and_ the chests and cabinet, which selfishly occupied the majority of the room.

Kili had tossed and turned from the moment Tauriel closed her eyes. He was uncomfortable with the two hostile elves below. Waking with a silver dagger between his ribs would not have surprised him. He ran his hands over his person as the maiden rolled up her bedding. With the exception of his leg wound, no new injury had sprung up in the darkness of the night.

_Well, there is still time yet for those elves to reveal their evil intents. _

Kili cast a spiteful glance at floor before rising to his feet and mirroring Tauriel's motions.

To be fair, it was not weariness as much as it was…other emotions that had kept him from sleep.

The dwarf let his gaze catch on his companion's form for a moment. There was little illumination in the room as the glow rock's light only barely permeated the hole in the floor. But Kili hardly noticed. Tauriel seemed to generate her own light. Her heart was a flame and her skin the thin paper of a lantern. Her hair glowed like copper and the warm color of her face was akin to the glow of a dawn spilling out over snowcapped peaks.

_I am not one for poetry but…if anyone can move me to fine words, it's her. _

He sighed and finished rolling the fabric. He passed it to Tauriel and she deposited the cots into a chest. She kept her eyes carefully away from his. He knew why. Something was growing between them. The dwarf was never surer of anything in his life. She had proved it by saving him so many days ago. Then she had continued to prove it by listening to his stories and smiling at his jokes. By letting her gaze linger and her heartbeat flutter.

He was not unwise to the ways of courtship. The lifestyle of the dwarves had been anything but stable after their exodus from the Blue Mountains. Homes were tents and belongs were rarely unpacked, for the nomadic peoples could never stay in once place for long. Kili knew the older members of their people, Thorin for one, had never taken to such practices. They had grown up in Erebor; they knew what it was like to have a solid room with walls and a ceiling of stone. To have dinner in the same hall every night and roam the same corridors. An unmoving home. A familiar one. But Kili and his brother were born into the wandering village. He was used to life on the road and never getting too attached to one patch of rocks or another. Similarly, the dwarf had also moved from one bonny lass to the next. He had never really considered himself too appealing a man. His beard was slow in growing and his choice of weapon was unconventional compared the favored axe or hammer. Yet ladies were quick to offer him their smiles none the less. Kili could honestly say by the time he left with his Uncle and their company, he had charmed, or at least tried to, every dark eyed girl that had had time for it.

So the dwarf knew what it meant when a woman took him in her arms (albeit to save him from a deadly fall, in the latest case) and stared deeply into his eyes while a lovely blush crept into her cheeks and a strange rhythm danced in her heart.

And how could he ignore the singe that had sizzled his skin upon the touch of her hand?

_Yet I cannot act on these feelings._ He clenched his fists. _She doesn't seem to inclined to do so either._

If indeed the elf felt anything at all for him, even if just an innocent fascination- though her strong senses of loyalty and pride bespoke of specific strength of the entirety of her emotions- it was not a thing that could last against the enmity of their peoples and the distance their two paths seemed destined to carry them.

_She will stay here in Mirkwood while I return to Erebor. That's…that's all there is to it._

Kili frowned. For some reason, such a conclusion was not something he seemed at all satisfied with.

"Are you ready?"

He looked to Tauriel. The room had been cleaned and organized. The maiden stood before him with her pack full of supplies and her hair fiercely braided behind her. He nodded. She looked sheepish for a moment before she took a step closer to him. He held a breath without noticing. He shouldn't dare to hope for more of the personal words they had shared last night. But he did.

"Master Kili, I must apologize. I cleansed your wound and redressed your leg's bandages this morning before asking your consent. Your sleep was more important and the task was simple enough. Do you find fault in my actions?"

Kili shook his head with a smile. He looked down at his thigh and brushed the crisp wrapping under his breeches. The maiden had certainly seen his bare legs more often than any. She had done so with the sole purpose of healing him and nothing more. He was unremittingly thankful if not left (just a little) wanting.

_How light her touch is. I barely thought I slept, and yet still I did not notice the feel of her hands._

"You have only my gratitude, Lady Tauriel," he said. He nodded respectfully. It finally occurred to him how much reverence she deserved. She had done so much for him already. Her helpfulness didn't seem to have any near end either. He dipped his head a little lower in a gesture reminiscent of a bow.

The elf frowned a moment before brushing past him and disappeared down the hole.

He moved to look at her upturned face. She held her hands out to catch him.

"Not necessary. I can make the jump. Do you not trust the results of your own ministrations?" he said and patted his leg with a grin. Tauriel nodded and stepped back. His smile faded. _Well let's get on with it._ He dropped and landed lithely on the balls of his feet. A twinge of pain emanated from the arrow wound. But nothing more. As far as he saw it, the injury was almost completely healed. The fact signaled the end of his stay with Tauriel. How many more days were left of their deal? Two? One?

What more did it matter. The formal dealings of their past selves seemed irrelevant to the friendship that presently bound them. _If I could make a deal to have her always by my side, I would do so in an instant._ He blinked at the intensity of his thoughts.

He brushed them aside as Tauriel picked a bow and quiver off the walls. She handed them to Kili and knelt down to look at him level. "Will you hold these? It would be uncomfortable for me to carry you upon my back in addition to the bow." Kili took them and slipped the items over his shoulders with a practiced ease. The elven bow was longer than his, which also occupied the spot between his shoulder blades, and would bump the backs of his knees as he walked. But it was no real inconvenience. "I would prefer to walk today," he said casually as he watched her golden eyes. The maiden quirked her head questioningly. "It would be faster if I carried you, Master Kili. Do you not wish for speed?" He looked at her earnestly. "True…I once wished for speed. But I would stay with you for a little longer if I can. Unless you have a burning desire to reach the border today, I will not insist upon it."

The elf was quiet for many moments. He noticed the softening of her face at his expressed desire to prolong their time together. But then it was gone and she nodded coolly. "Very well. I expect to reach Black Branch tomorrow morning. Come." She turned away with a snap of her fiery braid. She opened the door and crept onto the outside limb. Kili was glad that there would be no formal farewell to the two soldiers that had yet to wake. Without another pause, the dwarf grasped her shoulders and her hands went around his legs. Then the door was closed and they bounded to a nearby branch. The dwarf smiled in the cool morning air. It still smelled of fowl water and decay, but it was good to be free from that station. Too many things seemed like cages to him when in the company of the elves. _Elves aside from Tauriel, that is._

With her sure-footed jumps, they flew from one branch to another, making a gradual path to the forest floor. They reached the ground in little time. The maiden was as fast as a falcon when it came to darting among the trees.

Kili's feet met the soil in a happy reunion. He pressed his boots deeper into the mulch of pebbles and leaves and sighed. He needed to persuade Tauriel that they sleep on the floor tonight, regardless of the danger. A dwarf should not go to long without the touch or rock and dirt. "Tauriel-," he began, intending to tell her. But she was already walking briskly away. He swallowed the words and lengthened his strides to catch up.

They passed a couple moments' silence as they traveled. The elf was setting a faster pace now that she had seen the state of Kili's leg and deemed it capable of handling the exertion. He was impressed with how much healthier it felt with only a single night's rest. Truly, the elves were of the most skilled medics- be it through the properties of their medicine or the deftness of their quick hands, or another hidden feature all together. The dwarf confidently let both his legs bear his weight as he walked and was pleased with the absence of ache. _If the maiden means to walk faster than me, she will find it more difficult than she imaged. _Kili grinned to himself and trotted quickly next to Tauriel.

"I must note, Lady, how much I appreciated our talk yesterday. It is rare in such times to find so pleasant a conversation," he said up to her. She raised a sculpted brow. "Oh? I remember you doing most of the talking, Master Kili." The dwarf laughed and ran his fingers along the taut string of his bow across his chest. He had admittedly gotten a little carried away. Once he had started talking about the Warg, how could not tell her too of how Bombur spilled honey all over his beard and attracted wild bees for days? Or of the time Gloin drank so much ale he started promising his favorite jewels to his friends, who quickly took advantage of the situation and wore diadems of emeralds and cuffs of sapphires when Gloin awoke the next morning? Then there were the trolls and the goblins, not to mention the Eagles.

It had just felt so exciting, if not a little liberating, to share parts of himself with someone who didn't already know them. There was more than shallow flirting when it came to the elf. He wanted to tell her _everything_. He wanted to give her good reasons for saving his life. Twice. At least, that was the explanation that seemed the most obvious to him.

When he looked back up at her, smiling warmly, her face could not have been more different. It was once again blank. As pale and empty as a frozen lake.

"However…if I spoke out of turn last night, please tell me," he said slowly. He staunchly believed in the elf's secret affections for him. It would have taken a blind man to have missed the sparkle in her gilded eyes when hearing of his adventures. If only she would stop denying her heart. _Not that a mutual confession of our love would solve anything._ Kili swiftly turned his face to the ground to watch leaves crunch underfoot and waited for his blush to fade. "There was no misconduct, Master Dwarf." His lips pursed and when he looked up, she was more than a couple meters ahead of him. _Curse those long legs!_

"Tauriel, I said before, you are free to use my name. I would even prefer it." When he caught up to the spot she had previously occupied, her new position was even farther ahead than it had been before. He adjusted the twin bows over his back and quickened his pace. The arrows in the quiver on his back rattled nosily with his steps. The cacophony of his sprint up to her was loud in his ears. Mayhaps she should have carried her equipment after all? "Tauriel, there is something we must speak of," he said, breathing somewhat more heavily. "We spoke enough last night, Master Dwarf." When she looked at him, he was reminded less of golden coins and more of gleaming blades. "It was a pleasant break from the ardor of our mission but it has now resumed. We are entering more dangerous parts of the forest. In seven *leagues, the air will grow fowler and the spider webs thicker. We must conserve our breath. I bid you now to respect our mission and opt for silence in place of….conversation." She gave him a piercing glare before continuing her steps. The dwarf felt his chest fill with indignation. It was unlike the elf to be purposely stubborn. Perhaps she had spoiled him with her former, unrestrained helpfulness when he had been simply a 'life that needed saving' as opposed to an 'intimate friend or something more'.

"Tauriel!" he breathed exasperatedly.

Her retreating back gave him little answer. Kili did not wish to aggravate the elf. Anger would only turn her against his goals.

_Then there is nothing for it_. If she wanted them to part ways as nearly-friends instead of actually acknowledging a relationship, nothing he could say would sway her. The elf felt too strongly, lived too deeply. _Even feigning indifference towards me will be a pursuit that she'll not abandon unless threatened with death._

_I wish I hated her for that..._

He couldn't.

The dwarf gave Tauriel a scowl he was glad she couldn't see before starting after her.

* * *

><p>They covered four or five leagues with only the creaking of the trees crushed under the weight of their own rotting bulk and the fallow wind for noise. After every other hour, they rested their feet and ate fruit and strips of meat from the elf's pack. She would pass him a water-skin when he asked and return it to her belt without a glance. All the while she upheld her silence.<p>

Kili spent only a little time sulking. He thought he had understood women. But they each came with their own mysteries. And this _particular_ one's elven nature only added another tantalizing frustration into the mix.

When that line of thinking was utterly spent, his ruminations turned to his forlorn company.

It had only been a handful of days since he had parted from them. The thirteen dwarves, and Master Bilbo of course, would be in Erebor by now. Had they defeated Smaug? Such a feat seemed impossible, even with the unfailing strength and courage of his kinsmen. _But all Thorin need do is chase that Wyrm out and make sure he never return. Let the others of the world deal with such a pest. We dwarves have surely done so long enough._ Had any of the company been hurt? Dragon fire was a thing that burned hotter than any earthly flame and ate hungrily at metal and stone and flesh. He prayed that his friends had managed to come out of it all unscathed.

Then he thought of something even more troubling.

_Had they even found the door on Durin's Day?_

A cold dread gripped his heart like an icy claw. The pain and chill made it hurt with the smallest beat.

If the door had not been found, then the company would have to wait years more before the conditions ever fell into their proper places again.

_What would we do then? Would we wait outside Erebor and regroup? Would we dig another way in?_

He swallowed with difficulty through a constricted throat.

No. He could not even consider the thought that they had failed. They **had** opened the door. The dragon **had** been dealt with.

_I will be welcomed into our lost kingdom with open arms by my Uncle and rebuild it with him and finally see our people restored. _

Kili nodded resolutely. But the dread refused to leave his heart. And the anxiousness to return to his friends and brother surged anew in his blood.

_How selfish have I been… Wishing to stay in this forest forever, with her, like some enchanted fool. _

The dwarf gritted his teeth. Even with his internal chastisement of himself, he could not begrudge the elf her effect on him_. She is as beautiful as the dawn. She is loyal and strong and kind. I….I will never find another like her. And I trust Thorin and our company with my life. If anyone could reclaim Erebor and slay that wyrm, it would be them_. Kili allowed himself a faint smile. _I look forwards to greeting Thorin with a crown upon his head and Fili with a coronet befitting of a Prince. The heirs of Durin. My kin. My future. _

After hours had passed without a single thought being voiced, Kili could no longer keep a couple from tumbling past his lips.

"Tauriel, I-,"

She snapped her head so that only side of her face regarded him frostily.

"Kili," she murmured with a wary tone. Then her eye widened and the color drained from her face.

It all happened so fast.

Then the spiders were upon them.

* * *

><p>Kili took only a moment for fear. Like a grey cloud, ten or fifteen spiders- giant spiders with a size that made his veins freeze- hurtled towards them. They carried pincers the size of his arm and their bulk could crush a wagon or topple a bolder. Hundreds of legs crawled like a wicked wind over the lower branches of the trees. Beady eyes stared hollowly ahead and reflected only the terrified visage of their victim in those black mirrors. The dwarf considered briefly that his own pathetic, frozen face would be his last sight before his death.<p>

_**NO.**_

In moments the pack was washing over them as brackish water brakes against rocks.

Kili let out a breath and his hands remembered the feel of his bow.

He remembered courage.

"Tauriel!" he cried over the churning of blood in his ears. She looked to him and they locked eyes. All other drama faded away. Inside their little world, their only defense against the onslaught of their enemy, it was just the two of them. Gold melded with dark brown and they were were one. Kili tore the long bow from his shoulders and raised it above his head just as her hand reached out to take it. With her other hand she notched an arrow and stood close enough that he could feel the cool fall of her hair against his neck. "To your left!" she shouted before releasing the arrow. An instant later, an arachnid screeched out its dying breath and cracked against the forest floor. Kili whirled and notched two arrows and let them fly.

The adrenaline that always came with battle filled Kili's heart and his brow perspired with hot relief. In a flash he was aware of all of his foes moving at once, able to focus on each individual movement without neglecting another. His fingers snared arrows, flowed over his shoulder, stretched the wooden shafts out beneath the humming string of his bow, and sent the glinting arrowhead slicing through the air like fangs as quickly and fluidly as he breathed. With each careful sidestep of falling debris and bending of his waist to accommodate Tauriel's elbows that pulled and pushed with her own attacks, he exhaled a measured breath. And with each breath he launched another arrow. Together they circled around each other in a synchronous unit. If the elf wounded one of the beasts to slow its progress, Kili finished it off with arrows to the chest and head as Tauriel moved in another direction to face the next closest threat. He felt her hand constantly brush his as they both pulled shafts from the same quiver. Their feet danced around each other in a perfect rhythm. Their fingers fired and reloaded bows at a nearly identical pace.

The wave of spiders was diminished into a chaotic scrambling of the few survivors.

All around them the spawn of Dol Guldur hissed and screeched as arrows punctured their bodies in a merciless barrage. One by one they toppled to the ground to join the shells of their fallen brethren. As he breathed in a slow breath, Kili was heartened to see that almost all the spiders had been shot down before they reached their tiny targets. An ember of hope sparked in his chest as he ducked, turned, and jerked back his arm with arrow in its grip and faced the remaining foes_. Four more. There are only four more_. The dwarf barred his teeth fiercely and fired. The lead spider fell and the following three pushed forwards. Kili swiftly dug his hand into his quiver for another arrow in which to dispatch the remaining, evil beasts from the world.

His fingers grasped only air. Kili did not have the time to look over his shoulder and confirm his quiver's emptiness. In that time, that flicker of hesitation, the spiders reached them. The grotesque eight-legged shadows fell like smothering blankets of darkness over the pair.

Kili looked up in panic and realized he could not evade them. A giant, hairy leg connected with his torso and hurled him against a nearby tree. He grit his teeth with pain as his back wrapped around the bark. The breath burst from his body and Kili crumpled into the leaves. Breathe. _Breathe._ He needed breath to keep focusing. To keep his enemies from exacting their malicious intent. But his throat burned with fire and his vision was tinged with white along the edges.

Kili heaved and looked up as the spider landed over him. It was going to use those fangs on him, now, he saw them coming. But his burning body was a puppet with cut strings. Tears of pain dripped from his eyes as he struggled desperately for air.

"_Kili!"_

He sucked in a noisy breath and the will to fight blazed in his chest. His body rolled and dogged as the spider's pincers grazed his arm. It shrieked angrily and attacked again. The dwarf was gaining momentum now. He feinted and ducked under the spider's assaults as if he could predict them. But only for a while. All too quickly he remembered the pain in his spine and his movements lagged. Instantly, the spider caught his arm in its mouth and tore into his flesh.

The dwarf growled with rage and beat his fist upon the myriad of the spider's eyes. It howled and cringed away from his hands. There. That was his window. The arachnid was blind, for only a second, and Kili _had _to exploit such a weakness. It was his only chance before he made another mistake. The dwarf tore off a strip of bark from the tree behind him and climbed onto the spider's massive head. It let out a sound like metal scraping against rock and his ears throbbed with pain. But he disregarded it. Kili gripped the matted hair of the spider with unrelenting fists and crawled up to the joint between the creature's head and torso. Without another thought he jammed the wood shrapnel into the neck. Black blood that scorched like flame poured over his skin. Kili yelled but didn't stop. The spider writhed desperately to undermine his grip and he held on tightly with his legs and remaining hand and plunged the wood into to the spider's body again and again. He didn't stop until the creature had collapsed onto the ground and the dwarf lay half-under it.

Kili let his head drop onto the leaves and panted loudly. The spider's husk was not as heavy as it looked. Even if he wanted to push it off him, however, he did not have the strength. His muscles quivered with exhaustion and his head pounded like a drum. And all over pain radiated in his bones like an unremitting fire.

But the fight was not over.

Kili forced open an eye and watched helplessly as another spider, the last?, loomed over the husk of its kin and unleashed a fowl smelling screech upon his face. It made a babble of clicks and hisses that he assumed was language of some kind as it approached. _You do _not_ get this last word in this, demon! __**I **__do. _Kili reached his arm out against the protest of his shoulder and scrabbled for the bloody piece of wood that was his last weapon. He turned to look at his hand, heart pounding madly against his ribs, and watched his fingertips strain for the strip of bark that was only a hair's breadth out of reach.

He screamed with sorrow knowing that he was out of chances.

As the spider dived in for the kill, two arrows embedded themselves in its head and the dark light extinguished from his gaze. It slumped over and two husks now lay empty and still across Kili's battered body.

His head told him that that was the last spider. The spiders were gone. Tauriel had taken down the last two after he took down the others. But his heart urged him violently to action. It barreled blood down his limbs and made his fingers and toes shake with the need to get up and fight, _fight _until blood was spent and life was gone.

_No…no, it's over._

He closed his eyes and lay still as the waves of agony came and went. In a smudge of time, he felt himself capable of coherent thought. He flexed his arms and waited a moment for them to recover. As tempting as it was to slip into unconsciousness under his personal mountain of spider carcasses, he couldn't stay in one place for long. It was a message that his instincts blared endlessly in his mind. Kili grunted as he braced his hands on the corpse and attempted to squirm out from under it.

Suddenly, there was a rustling as the top body shifted. Kili froze and white hot panic gave his hands speed. He was within range of the wood shard now and clenched it tightly. He poised the bloody weapon over his head and prepared to strike. Then, the spider shell was hurled off into the distance and Tauriel stood in its place. The dwarf stared at her mutely. The dim light was a halo around the messy red gold of her hair. Black blood spattered her face and made the brightness of her eyes all the more radiant. She was truly a goddess: a being of light sent to save him from his mortal woes.

Kili blinked and grasped the hand she offered him. Almost effortlessly, she pulled him up and took him away from the carnage that he had been mired in for many moments. She took five long steps and gently laid him in the carpet of leaves.

"Are you bleeding?" she breathed, her worried gaze running up and down his body.

He shook his head. "I just hurt my back." His bicep ached where the spider's teeth had found him, but it was a shallow wound. "That's all. My head…" He gestured to his head, vaguely conveying the jumbled state of his thoughts. The elf nodded. She was so quick. So smart. It was such relief to have so competent a comrade. She had officially saved him a third time.

"I will carry you to the higher branches. More spiders might be coming. We must move."

Kili blinked his agreement. He held still as she moved her long bow over his head and fastened it to his chest. He wondered distantly where his own bow had fallen. Without a doubt, he knew that his fingers had loosened their hold and dropped the weapon when all the breath had been squeezed out of his lungs.. _There's…no time to go back for it._ A flare of despair took him. Then, the maiden scooped him into her arms and clasped him securely to her chest. He leant his head tiredly against a green and black shoulder and breathed shallowly. He felt his strength returning. But for now, he would rest and let the elf spirit them to safer heights.

She jumped easily to the closest branch. Several more powerful jumped launched them higher into the air. Then she was gliding in a downward arch and landed soundlessly on a cluster of branches that were an indeterminable distance from the ground. Kili knew that they were quite high. The air felt cool and smelled almost fresh. He sucked in a grateful mouthful and opened his eyes. The canopy of the forest was almost within arm's reach. The sunlight just behind the leafy veil spilled through in a couple patches to gild the grey branches with pale glow.

_Yes. Take us out from the haze of the forest. _Please.

Tauriel did not look down to him. But with her next jump, they broke the canopy and the dwarf felt the warmth of the sun for the first time in many days. Kili sat up straighter and feasted his eyes on the rosy, orange shell of the sky. The sun was setting. They had journeyed throughout the day and now it was almost spent._ I never noticed how beautiful sunsets could be..._

His eyes searched the silver and pink clouds, bright as fish scales, and breathed in as much of the chilled air as possible. The paint of yellow in curving strokes was so vivid against the swirls of grey.

Tauriel stepped down to nestle them more securely in a net of branches. Kili used her arms to help balance himself as climbed to his feet.

The elf scanned the perimeter for a minute before fixing her eyes upon some unknown location hidden in the leaves, the splendor of the sunset lost on her. He was certain that she was looking at another hoard of spiders that were en route to the blood soaked location that they had only just evacuated.

"The spiders have never come this close to the palace before," she said softly, almost to herself. Kili kneaded his lower back and focused on steadying his heart beat. The lingering headache had faded away by the time the elf turned to him. "We are far from the palace, Tauriel. I am actually surprised those accursed spiders didn't attack us while we slept." The elf's fair brow wrinkled as she considered his words. "No... The spiders have kept a careful radius from the palace for many years. They have _never_ strayed into this part of the forest. Never. They are far too close." Kili frowned and began to rub dried blood off the skin of his hands. "That means…they are growing bolder," he murmured gravely. The cold realization hung in the air like a bad omen. The dwarf shivered and looked with concern at Tauriel. Her discomfort was a striking image on her face. He had rarely ever seen the elf's cool poise crack to display the raw worry or anger underneath. "The evil of Dol Guldur is growing," she breathed.

"Our enemy is testing his power.

"I fear it might be greater than we previously imagined…" She clenched a fist resolutely and looked up to the darkening sky. "My King must be warned. Our arrival at the Black Branch district has now become imperative. I _must_ send word to the palace." Kili nodded. What could he say? Though he would have them tend their wounds and reach the district by morning, the safety of all of Mirkwood now hung in the balance. _I have no choice in the matter. This forest is her home._

Tauriel looked at him sternly with the imminent danger a plague on her thoughts. Kili pulled off his gloves and tucked them into his belt. With his bare hands, he gathered the hair from his face and tied it into a knot behind his ears. It was sticky with gore. The dwarf sighed and rubbed more dried blood from around his eyes. He had made quite the mess when brutally stabbing the fiend above him._ I did what I had to._ He only wished it hadn't been so…gross.

The elf's eyes softened as she watched him. "I must apologize, Master Kili." His brows rose at the gentleness of her tone. "I took the last of our arrows and left you defenseless. I'm…sorry." He shook his head. "No, Tauriel. I have only myself to blame. I should have used fewer arrows to take down those spiders. One arrow in the head would have done it. But I panicked… I used multiple." He sighed and stretched his arms. His muscles would be sore in the morning. It would serve him well to start loosening them up before the chill of night turned them stiff. Tariel's eyes glistened. Like the twinkling of diamonds. The dwarf stared at her with bated breath.

_Those…those can't be tears? _

A pale hand cupped his cheek. Her touch was so light, like the softness of a blossom.

Quickly, his hand rose to cover hers, and pressed her fingers more firmly to his skin.

"I…I would have you never be hurt again, Master Kili. Forgive me for all the injuries you have sustained in my company." He shook his head fiercely. The dwarf stepped closer to Tauriel. Suddenly, the night felt much warmer. The leaves rustled with the cool breeze but the pair hardly noticed. "No more apologies. These are the times we live in. Our enemies pursue us. We fight back." He moved her hand from his face to hold it tightly in both of his. The clasped hands hung between them as Kili looked up at her intensely. "But there will always be light in the dark, Lady Elf. Wounds heal. Comrades rise up together." He craned his head back and grinned. Amidst the red and black of the sky, a single star had come out to sparkle like the purest of gems.

"And even in the blackest night, a star may yet shine through."

He reveled in the beauty of the scene overhead. Slowly, other bright sparks came out to join the first. In no time at all a gossamer shroud of sparkling jewels had rolled out to cover the sable brocade of the evening sky.

They both basked in the glow for many moments. Kili turned back to Tauriel. Truly, she was the most beautiful sight of all.

A fragile smile hung on her lips. Such a delicate thing…as if the next breeze would take it away.

"Thank you, Master Kili," she whispered. She blinked and her eyes were minted to hard gold once more.

She shook her head and the smile disapeared. But the dwarf had already committed it to memory. It was a thing he intended to pull out again, like a piece of treasure from a box, to look at when times seemed especially dark and hope was far from reach. He knew just as Mirkwood had trouble swiftly approaching its treetops, so too did the Dwarves of Erebor.

But Kili could not dwell on the future now. He was with her and that's what mattered. He released her hand and brushed imaginary dirt off his shoulders. "Should we get moving then? I think I am ready to reach the border. Only so that I may sleep in an actual bed and close my eyes for many hours." The elf smiled again, for him, before helping him onto her back. Her hands seemed to grip him more tightly than usual.

Tauriel jumped to the next branches of the top level of the forest. She skimmed across the canopy like a water bug over a crystal pond. Her footsteps were so quite that they sounded uncannily like the dry song of the leaves. She was a marvel. Kili rested his check against her shoulder and held tightly to the rough fabric of her shirt. _How will I say goodbye to her?_

He began to think of his words as dark lashes fanned against his cheeks and sleep found him.

* * *

><p>Definitions:<p>

A *league, according to certain text from Tolkien's writings, is approximately three miles.

Well friends, I say I have two more chapters to go and then it will be over. I have to admit I'm feeling a little sad about it all…

As always, thank you for your reviews and for reading!

-Kirin


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

Tauriel imagined the community of hidden huts and stations of the Black Branch district like a beacon shining out amidst the shroud of night. Darkness had fallen over the Elf and her companion by the time she had crossed a couple leagues. Now ,she was left to complete the remaining trail in shadow. But the knowledge that their journey was nearly at its end added swiftness to her steps and fire to her blood. The sudden ambush of the spiders had supplied crucial information to her people's fight against the evil threatening their forest. If the group of malignant beasts intended an advancement into new regions of the forest and a subsequent attack on the palace, security needed to be refortified and countermeasures needed implementing.

_I will _not_ allow this forest's taint to spread to another leaf or claim another life. The enemy's plans will end in the spiders' destruction. _

The elf frowned and stretched into a high leap that had her soaring over the lake of foliage and branches underneath.

As she raced, her thoughts swung from the spiders, to the approaching district, to the Dwarf across her shoulders. Her mind switched subjects as quickly as her feet touched a branch and then propelled off of it.

_What….what will it be like without him?_ she wondered sullenly.

Tauriel had gone centuries without the sight of his mischievous grin or the twinkling of his eyes, as deep as the night sky and just as intriguingly dark. But the thought of going a day without them caused a worry in her heart that she could not understand. Was afraid to understand.

_Informing the officers of recent events is what matters most. _

She nodded and spiraled up into the blackness of the leaves.

* * *

><p>The elf would have reached the first hut nestled in the boundary of Mirkwood in only a few of hours if another battalion of spiders hadn't revealed themselves beneath the forest's orange canopy. She had spied the multitude of legs and glinting eyes moving like a malicious river. Her heart turned to ice for only a moment.<p>

Then Tauriel clenched her teeth in hot anger and stopped. The limb creaked as she crouched to better study the enemies below. The wind whipped at her hair and the dwarf stirred, grabbing her shoulder in a worried grip. "What is your decision, Tauriel?" he whispered. She glanced back at him and was heartened by the unfailing determination that flashed in his gaze. _So he as spied them too. He knows my intent_. "Does your back still pain you?" He shook his head and flexed his arms. "I'm always ready to take down more of those monsters," he answered heatedly. The mask of dried blood and dirt he wore was an intimidating sight. "Though our lack of arrows concerns me." The elf nodded sharply. She had taken stock of their weapons the moment she spotted the second wave of spiders, and was ready to tear them her apart with her bare hands should it come to it. But such a measure was not yet needed. "I have two sabers and one dagger that would be a suitable sword to you." A hand slipped down to her thigh to run a finger over the cool handle of the Silvan dagger. "I do not know if we can take them all out….but I dare not leave them to their nefarious purposes." She turned her eyes downwards. The pack was headed in the same direction as the last. The silence that hung like smoke in the air was also charged with a dark energy: the movement of the many creeping bodies of the spiders and the pounding of twin hearts in the leaves. "So we'll swoop down, kill as many as we can, and hope to alter their course?" Kili breathed, eyes wide enough to reflect the glint of moonlight. The elf nodded. "However, I would not have you risk your life if you are not comfortable with combat with a blade." The dwarf considered her words for a moment before reaching out a hand. "I was raised to fight with many weapons. Your blade will do what I have need of it." She hesitated for only a moment. The thought of losing him was an ache in her chest. Only hours ago she had seen his motionless body on the ground and thought the worse. And there were many more spiders this time...

_I will protect him. I protect that which is dear to me._

Tauriel knelt down to look him firmly in those sable eyes. With one hand she unsheathed the dagger and slipped it into Kili's calloused palm. The other wrapped around his shoulder and held it tightly. Her training as a captain of the Guard moved her to speech. "Stay close to me, as close as you can manage. A slice to the throat or a stab into their heads will kill the spiders. But their skin is tough so your attacks must be strong and swift, as if you were stabbing through armor. If a spider catches you unaware, stab as many of its eyes as possible. Do not make a move that leaves you defenseless; do _not_ take on multiple enemies at once. We attack together. We move as one." The whispers of the arachnids' legs over the branches was deafening in her eras. Kili grabbed her forearm and nodded. "Be safe," she breathed to him before standing up and unsheathing her sabers in deadly arches of silver.

The stared at each other for a tense moment. With the next, he was upon her back and she dove down into the inner depths of the forest.

* * *

><p>It took them an hour or so before the spiders' numbers thinned enough that order was broken and fear made them scrabble away in haphazard directions. Not that she kept count as her blades sliced and struck and severed, blood spraying every inch of her face and arms with feet that danced on to the next enemy, but she reasoned that she had felled almost thirty spiders. It had been a new trial upon her very sharp senses to track the many movements of the fowl creatures coming from a flurry of angles. In addition to this, her constant awareness of the dwarf behind her had to be kept carefully in check less it become a distraction. But the battle had gone well. She had stuck out at every spider that had faced her and sent its vicious hissing body crumbling to the ground. When she had the time to spare it, she made sure to cut the eyes or sever a limb of an arachnid that Kili battled. Her whirlwind of attacks and overpowering speed had reached a level that would have impressed her if her complete focus hadn't been absorbed by her tasks.<p>

After a very grueling fight, when the spiders had spread out and fled, Tauriel let out a very ragged sigh.

She cleaned her blades on her breeches though it was of little use; her clothing was just as blood-splattered as the metal. She resignedly worked them into their sheathes and looked around. The ground was littered with the mangled corpses of the enemy. It was a gruesome sight. The carpet of leaves and dirt were completely hidden under the layer of slain spiders. It would take her kin almost a full day to pile up the bodies and carry them to a location out of the forest to safely burn them. The elf wrinkled her nose at the chore before venturing out across the sea of carcasses. The maiden blinked and realized Kili wasn't behind her.

Her heart squeezed and she spun around. Glinting eyes flitted over every spec on the ground and even up into the leaves overhead, as if by some small chance he had crawled up a trunk to escape an attack. It wasn't until many frantic moments that she found him. He was a couple meters to her left, leaning heavily against the roots of a nearby tree. She nimbly dashed over the remaining arachnid shells and knelt down next to him. His eyes were closed and his chest moved raggedly in breath. The rasps that crept out of his lips sounded laden with gravel and stone.

"Kili," she spoke firmly. His face sported several scratches on his cheeks and one rather deep laceration that bled a dark bruise into his jaw. Dirt and gore covered his skin in thick layer. Her hands hovered helplessly over his face before tenderly pressing against his chest and limbs. She examined his flesh thoroughly, short of stripping off his clothes entirely, and waited for the feel of open flesh and weeping wounds. After a length of time, Tauriel closed her eyes fleetingly in relief to find no such injuries.

_The dwarf's life is safe. He only has but bruises and shallow cuts. _

Her palm pressed with more weight than she intended on his abdomen as she leaned over him.

Kili's face wrinkled in pain as he gasped. The elf quickly retreated and adjusted his body so that he was sitting more flushly against the tree bark. "Durin's Beard what massive beast has made my chest its comfort chair?" His grimaced before opening his eyes.

A visible sigh made his body sag. "Oh. It's you, Tauriel."

His head hung limply against on its place on the bark but his heavy-lidded gaze was fixed upon her.

"Never has the sight of your face pleased me more," he said, voice rough with strain, and took in another wheezing breath. "I was quickly tiring of those spiders' despicable features."

The maiden smiled. She moved some grimly tendrils of hair out of his eyes and shook her head. "You've sustained many bruises, Kili. I fear you will have a difficult journey over the few leagues that separate us from the district." Her fingers hovered over his jaw before falling away. "But you fought very fiercely. You deserve as much rest as you desire when you reach your bed." His eyes gleamed he did not have the energy to return her smile. Brusquely, Tauriel dug into her pack and removed some cloth and medicine. She applied it lavishly to the dwarf's face and arms, taking the liberty to lift up his tunic and cover his chest with it too. He turned his head away as he hissed his agony but made no move to stop her. When the elf's ministrations had served their purpose, she bundled away the medical supplies and leaned over him.

"Do you need a moment to recover? I will wait as long as you need. The spiders are all dead though I will keep watch." Kili was draped like wet fabric across the tree and made no move to sit up or look around. The dwarf only shook his head. The medication working in his skin was a mixture of herbs and words of ancient *Quenya. Together, they were a potent force that cleansed wounds of taint and knitted flesh back together. The renewal of bones required a more powerful magic, but luckily the dwarf had no such need. Nonetheless, the repairing of tissue was a process that felt akin to the searing touch of fire. Tauriel had had numerous wounds healed in such a manner after battles with spiders had left muscles torn and ribs and femurs fractured or Orc blades had found their marks across her face or arms. Many nights had passed with her body engulfed in flame as she waited for flesh to mend and bones to set. She understood very well the pain was creeping through his veins.

"No," he sighed. He blinked the sweat and filth from his eyes to stare at her.

"I know how important it is that we reach Black Branch tonight. News of the spiders' movements must be relayed to your superiors." Breath hissed out from between gritted teeth as he sat up. Tauriel's hands hovered next to him if he needed them. The dwarf dug his fingers into the bark to crawl his way up the trunk. Before he stood fully, the elf pried her dagger out of his black fingers and sheathed it. He swayed unsteadily on his feet and she took his shoulders to balance him. "My thanks," Kili said quietly. Without another word she helped him onto her back. His shallow breaths in her ear gave her pause.

"Are you certain? I can feel your exhaustion. Do you truly not wish for respite? If only to reclaim a little strength."

The dwarf shook his head against her shoulder. "The sooner we get there, the sooner I can rest. Do not waste your worry on me, Tauriel." His lips curved on her neck. "Spiders are as harmless as dragonflies compared to the Orcs and goblins I have faced." With that, he closed his eyes and the elf shook her head.

_Stubborn. Courageous, but stubborn._ She couldn't shake the small smile that crept onto her face.

Tauriel flew across branch and leaf like a bird in her haste to finally reach her destination. She knew even the slightest step on a limb made her companion unconsciously clench his jaw in pain. Her heart was a sunrise in her chest when she at last saw the lanterns that marked the edge of the district.

"We are here, Kili," she said eagerly over her shoulder. The dwarf muttered a response and she turned back to the arch of branches that formed a pathway to the front gate. Hazel eyes marked her approach under bronze helms. Tauriel signaled to the sentries and they nodded. Inside the copse of trees, a small village of houses built out of branches and moss hung on sturdy limbs.

Lanterns with flickering orange hearts dotted the canopy like a constellation of swollen stars.

In the circle of light, each tree sported rings of thick branches that were not of natural design. The elves had told the trees to grow in such specific formations and they had listened. It was commonplace for elves to converse with the inhabitants of the forest, be it the trees or birds or tiny blades of grass. And the elves were always very friendly and respectful. It was thus that when an elf asked a favor of their silent friends, they were usually accommodated. Each tree in the district had several halos of braches that bolstered two or three huts. In total, the small community contained twenty one houses. The district was divided into three sections: seven huts were designated as barracks for the soldiers, seven more for the storing of supplies and weapons, and the remaining seven as tiny stations that were scattered over the perimeters and provided shelter for on-duty sentries.

Small bridges of wooden planks strung together on ropes connected various huts to others in adjacent trees. Elves on the bridges or on the small terraces of the cabins regarded her silently. All were in armor- some clad with quivers and bows and helmets, others dressed more domestically with their hair gleaming openly in the starlight. Some raised hands in salutes or nodded respectfully as she passed. Tauriel smiled with warmth in her cheeks. It had only been two days since she had set off from the palace. She had spent missions that stretched on into weeks before she saw a pair of familiar fey eyes. But never fail, be it a separation of one day or one month, she always experienced a tide of happiness to return to her people. Especially the soldiers she had fought alongside for centuries and whose lives and love she valued much more highly above her own.

Sharp eyes searched out the house of the commanding officer of Black Branch. It was set aside from the other plebian structures by two, bright lanterns that hung above its door. The metal spires of bright copper were shaped into the image of twisting vines with delicately wrought leaves.

The captain jumped onto the wooden walkway and was met by a lone, female guard. She held a spear in one hand in addition to the customary archery weaponry she wore upon her back. "Captain Tauriel," the guard greeted, and they nodded to each other. "You have arrived ahead of schedule," she said, a questioning note in her voice. "Yes," Tauriel said, feeling a heaviness enter her feet. The day of fighting and carrying the dwarf had drained a fraction of her normal stamina. She wasn't tired…just more weary than normal. The comfort of being back among kin also took an edge off the adrenaline that had almost completely left her system, leaving her energy at even lower stores.

"I have serious news," she said and crouched down to let Kili off her shoulders. He seemed loathe to touch his boots to the floor, and did so incrementally. The elven soldier looked on with a small frown. When the dwarf was standing safely, she looked back up to the fair green eyes. "May I speak with the commander?" The elf nodded and withdrew her spear from its place across the door.

She knocked once on the door's face to signal to the people within before waiting a moment and pulling on the handle.

A cluster of glowrocks spread around the room cast its occupants in a gentle orange light. The commander sat in a chair in front of a desk with maps and other documents strewn about its surface. A map of Southern side of Mirkwood presently held his attention. Officers huddled around his form talked with muted voices and gestured occasionally to a position on the map. All four men turned and silence fell over the group. Tauriel bowed swiftly. Kili moved into the room and, though she could not see him, listened to him lean against the nearest wall and let out a long breath.

"Commander Arnuin," she said as she stared at the ground. Her braid slipped over the shoulder and brushed the wooden floor. "Captain Tauriel, I am pleased to finally count you among our numbers here in Black Branch." The maiden looked up to meet the easy smile of her old friend. He gracefully unfolded his figure from the chair and moved to clasp her forearm in his warm hand. They smiled at each other a long moment. Arnuin was a handsome man with a square jaw and auburn hair that was almost golden in the dim light. He was tall for an elf and lithe beneath his ornate armor. He searched her eyes and his smile fell away.

"What news makes your heart so heavy?" he bid softly. Keen eyes took note of the back blood smeared across her skin and uniform.

"We were attacked by a pack of spiders not more than four leagues to the North. Then, after I had crossed a couple more en route to this district, we were waylaid by a second pack with almost twenty or thirty heads more than the first." All the soldiers were quiet as minds processed the new information. "We were able to dispatch the first pack without much trouble. Of the second ambush, five or seven of them managed to escape. They did not take up their former path. The important part of this string of attacks is that those spiders were indeed following _a path._ They fought very fiercely so as to not be deterred from it. I believe that both packs were sent on a very specific mission. They moved with purpose, unlike the past spider attacks that were random and seemingly without direction." Tauriel held her commander's eyes. They had turned cold like metal. She led him back to his desk and pointed at a dark illustration near the edge of the inky forest. "Dol Guldur sent those spiders to the Palace. If these two attacks are any inclination of the enemy's plans, it is this: he has begun to move on the Heart of the Forest, to strike us from within and at our core."

Two officers began muttering between themselves. Arnuin nodded sternly and let his hand linger over the black image of Dol Guldur. "You are not the first to be attacked in our district's vicinity. Three other sentries happened upon moving groups of spiders and eliminated them before they gained any more ground. I had feared they had been following a path back to the Palace. Now I am certain of it." A deep frowned etched into his lips. Then he turned to an officer. A brisk energy had entered the room and swirled in the atmosphere like embers on the wind. "Rally a group of thirty of your men and patrol at a radius of four leagues from this district. If you happen upon a pack of swiftly moving spiders, send an elf back to bring word of it to me and then track them from the treetops. Do not engage them until they have almost reached their destination. Before you attack, send your fleetest member to warn the Gaurd so that they will be at the ready. I intend, however, to have you kill every spider before they are even visible from the Palace's battlements. Go."

The two exchanged words and mapped out several more plans should something in the main plan go awry. A fast ten minutes later, the officer bowed and exited the room. Arnuin then turned to another officer to instigate a new regime for the district to follow while the most serious threat of Dol Guldur was in the process of being countered and nullified. Sentries were to be sent on more rounds at more encompassing distances. Hundreds of new arrows were commissioned to be made and stockpiled. New bows needed stringing and new blades needed forging and sharpening. The officer and the soldier under him bowed and exited as swiftly as the first officer had. Lastly, the commander turned to the last soldier and Tauriel had to listen more intently to catch his orders. "Thaenen, I need to you run to the Palace and warn the King of the recent developments. Then return like the wind to Black Branch and tell me of his orders." Arnuin straightened and turned cold eyes to her. "The whole area will follow my commands until our King deems otherwise." Tauriel nodded gravely and watched the soldier Thaenen disappear out of the door as fast as a bolt of lightning. The elf blinked in astonishment.

_Such speed! He could surely outrun the quickest stormcloud!_

She was glad that such speedy messengers were on hand at every post.

Arnuin sat down to pour for a couple moments over the map before rolling up the documents and tucking them into his belt.

"Captain Tauriel, I would have you accompany me to the armory. We have many weapons to distribute to the sentries and their stations before this night is done."

She nodded and was ready to follow him out the door before she caught sight of Kili in the corner of her eye. He watched her under heavy brows. His face looked very rugged and hollow, making the darkness of his eyes even more piercing.

_I cannot leave him like this._ She crossed to the dwarf's side and put a steadying hand on his back. "Commander Arnuin, I must ask a favor," she said softly, before dipping into another deep bow. "Yes?" he asked, a rustling of parchment telling of his stuffing of more rolls into his armor.

"My comrade here has fought very hard. He needs further medication and rest. I ask to take him to a nearby pool so that he may cleanse his wounds and wash his clothes from blood. I will go forthwith to the armory afterwards." The commander considered her request. "The dwarf fought alongside you?" he asked after some time.

Tauriel blinked in confusion. "Of course, Commander. He guarded my back and felled many of the beasts himself. I couldn't have done it alone." She chanced a look up and found hard metallic eyes searching the small form of the dwarf. Arnuin towered over Kili, and drenched him in his shadow when he moved closer. "I sense his wounds. He is indeed worthy of a respite and a good wash." He looked to Tauriel. "But the dwarf can find his own way to the stream. I require your assistance." The commander moved to the door and surely expected Tauriel to trail obediently after him. But the maiden had already accepted conflict with her friend as she was unwilling to leave Kili's side. Thranduil had opposed her aid to dwarf, and so had Umetir and Thulien. Now Arnuin was the next member of her kin to deplore her bond with Kili. He would not be the last.

_I am_ _not leaving him. Not then, and not now._

"I must humbly decline, Commander." She bent her back lower in supplication. She was nothing if not respectful of her long friendship with Arnuin and the many battles they had endured and the merrymakings they had shared together. "He does not know the way and he will stumble in the dark. He needs my guidance. I assure you I will meet you in the armory directly after I see him safely to his destination." Her gold irises burned as she held those of the taller elf's. "Please, Arnuin."

He nodded slightly and opened the door. "Very well, my old friend. But make haste. Your kin and your King have need of you now."

Arnuin swept out of the door with glinting bronze and shining hair. Then, the room was empty and the glow of the rocks seemed dim and cold. She had never before noticed the brightness of commander. Nor how painfully sharp such a brightness could be when he was displeased.

Tauriel sighed before kneeling and helping Kili up. "Wait but a moment more, Kili. I will reach the pool as quickly as I can." She closed the door behind her and nodded at the green-eyed guard before jumping off the terrace and being swallowed up in the darkness of the night.

* * *

><p>The pool branched from the stream named Elurien, which was a tributary of the Forest River that cut through Mirkwood and eventually emptied out into a lake of Esgaroth that lay before the Lonely Mountain. Tauriel remembered tracking the dwarven company down the river, to the lake, and then into Laketown as they journeyed to their lost home. It had been the singular operation that had brought about her exile from the palace and the loss of Legolas. She hoped distantly that he would soon reach Mirkwood and free both her and his father from their gnawing worry. <em>Our kingdom has need of our Prince. He will give us hope.<em>

The approaching babbling of the water made Tauriel sigh in pleasure. The sounds of water over rocks and wind through leaves were beloved music to the Wood Elves. She jumped down and landed soundlessly by the sandy bed. The stream flowed like a silver ribbon in the dark. Tauriel helped Kili sit in the mud as the water lapped at his boots. He flinched with the cold but soon relaxed into the feeling of the swirling currents. With the efficiency and gentleness she had used in the treatment of many of the dwarf's injuries, the elf worked Kili's feet out of his boots and rinsed them until their swelling and heat had gone down.

"Many thanks, Tauriel. For this," he breathed. He wriggled his toes in the water with a sigh and looked up to her. "For everything."

The maiden nodded before ripping a piece of fabric from her tunic and soaking it in the water. "May I clean your face?" she asked, both of their voices seeming unusually hushed in the darkness. He shook his head. "No, your hands do not deserve so lowly a labor." She smiled and rung out the extra water from the rag. "You need your strength to tend you your wounds in my absence. I will do this for you."

He held her gaze for a long pause. The moonlight danced in his eyes like a white flame. Reluctantly, he nodded. Tauriel gently ran the cloth over his face and repeatedly stroked the dried blotches of blood. Eventually the skin became visible. Her pale fingers then moved to the gash on his jaw. When the rag ran over it, he grimaced with a snarl. His hands twitched but remained clasped in his lap. "Is…is this water clean?" Kili hissed. The elf quickly rubbed at the injury until the dark flecks had disappeared and the large bruise and angry, red cut remained. The dwarf twisted the fabric of his tunic tighter and tighter all the while. He never made a sound above a loud breath. "I understand your thinking," Tauriel said as she made a couple more passes with the cloth over his face. It was important that all the spider blood was removed from open wounds. It could lead to infection in hours and turn flesh dark with rot and disease. Orc poison was even more insidiously lethal. It was a wonder Kili had endured it all.

"The water might sting but not because it is tainted. Our trees are fallow and the air carries the scent of their deterioration," the elf said, listing off the symptoms of her sick forest that had become all but commonplace to the people of the Mirkwood. "But evil has a preference for things that stay still. It curls inside of them and spreads. Many of the grey trees you see around you are the survivors. Their ancestors turned black and withered and fell long ago." Tauriel wrung out the sullied cloth and soaked it anew three more times until the dwarf's face was stripped of its filthy mask. His skin glistened slightly red from the pressure of the rag. The elf grabbed his chin and turned his head from side to side. The bruise reclaimed her attention and she rubbed it softly with her thumb. "Streams and rivers, on the other hand," she continued and flicked gold eyes up to the pair that had never left her face. "-are always moving. They flow and turn and swirl. Impossible to tame, incapable of stagnation." She smiled and dipped her thumb into the silver brook and rubbed a couple drops into the gash. "Evil has tried many times to taint Forest River and her stream Elurien. But the water carries it away and the sand filters it out. My people also add a little bit of their protective magic. These waters remain pure and nourish all who drink them." The elf cupped her hand in the pool and drank the cool liquid. The droplets that splashed her face worked in her own cuts and made them tingle. The water tasted bright and shiny. She wiped her lips and smiled at Kili. "Any stinging sensation that Elurien causes you is the feel of its healing. You should be most thankful." The dwarf cast his eyes down to the stream. He dipped his face down to it and drank for many minutes. When he pulled back, sparkling beads fell like rain from his chin.

"Yes. I am thankful…," he said after the water had dripped away from his face. Tauriel caught herself staring and looked self-consciously to the rag laying by her leg. She crumpled it into a fist and stuffed it between her tunic and belt. She took the moment to share Kili's silent company and listen to the crystalline voice of the meandering stream. She could hear the water smile as it kissed and licked at stones and laugh as it tumbled happily over the mud.

She exhaled slowly and rose to her feet. The dwarf lifted his face to watch her. "I must go help Arnuin with fortifying the sentry stations. I advise that you rinse your clothes and tend to the rest of your wounds in my absence." She unbuckled her pack and laid it beside him on the cool earth. "You will find plenty of bandages and medicine inside. You are free to eat the last two fruit if you wish. I will bring back more food for supper."

Tauriel nodded firmly. The whim to believe that she and the dwarf sat by the streambed in a private world separate from the struggles of spiders and elves and tired, wasting trees came and went. But her duty was a mantle she that she could not put on and off as she wished. It was perpetual, stitched into her soul. And presently her commander had need of her services. She was obliged to give them until she could give no more.

The elf stepped back and crouched, ready to leap to the nearest branch.

"Tauriel," came Kili's soft voice in the darkness. "You will return to me once you're done?"

She smiled and tilted her head at him. "Are you so afraid of the dark, Master Kili?"

His face looked like statue in the sparse light that seeped through the canopy. His skin was pale and the stubble on his chin was like the grain of stone. His stare bore an unwavering intensity as if carved in marble.

Her jest was swept away in the wind and she blinked in the coldness between them.

"Say you'll return to me. Please."

The elf blinked and nodded after she remembered to respond.

"…yes. I will."

She took off into the night and swallowed the erratic rhythm of her heart.

* * *

><p>If Tauriel had thought herself relatively un-tired before she met up with Arnuin and elves to form assembly lines that delivered bows, quivers, and blades to various stations and soldier posts, she certainly felt the weight of the day's events by the time she finished.<p>

It had been moderately pleasant to converse with Arnuin about his past management of the district and his future plans, for he was an intelligent man and knew what facts would interest her, as they worked. It had also been nice to have an ear in which to pour news of the palace, her responsibility to wait for Legolas, her fear for him, and the all the trite gossip circulating between the palace Guardsmen that had had yet to trickle down to the phalanxes installed at the forest's borders. She refrained from mentioning her dispute with Thranduil... Though she was stationed in Black Branch under a pretense that protected the fact her exile from speculation, the knowledge that many years would fall away before she saw her King's face again was a heavy burden in her chest. And she could not speak of it to her comrades. They would only react with utter incredulity.

_Only Kili understands. He's seen the world outside. He knows my motifs. _

The desire to speak with Thranduil as she once did had gradually waned as she journeyed farther and farther from the palace. She was adjusting quickly to life under Arnuin's command and was developing a fondness for the web of wooden bridges and speckling of orange lanterns in the foliage. When the district had been transformed into a suitable state of alertness and preparedness many hours later, Arnuin gave Tauriel leave. He invited her to stay and share a meal with him but she politely declined. She insisted that she wanted to take a bath and retire to her cot. Indeed, she had spent most of the night talking to soldiers, hefting bundles of arrows, and scratching numbers onto parchment- all the while the spiders' long dried blood etched deeper into her skin. She was very eager to be rid of it.

Tauriel glided with eyes that pierced the blackness to the stream she had left earlier that night.

Kili sat further back from the bank. His leaned against a tree; a position that had taken a liking to recently. A carpet of grass cushioned him between the roots and he looked at something in his hand.

The captain was satisfied to find that all his clothes lay damp on the boulders a little to their right. His leather overcoat, his blue tunic, the leather he wore around his hands, his belt. Even his boots lay neatly organized with the rest of his wardrobe on the stony surface. The articles he still wore were only a dark blue under-tunic and his breeches. A white bandage circled his bicep and ringed a couple fingers on his right hand. They too were soaked. The dwarf had done a thorough job of washing the dirt from both fabric and skin. When she approached, he met her gaze. His loose hair fell in dripping rivulets around his shoulders.

The sight gave her pause. She had rarely seen the dwarf so stripped bare. The first time had been when he had awoken in her room, with the medics having had cleansed him and wrapped him up and deposited him under her blankets.

_We've come full circle, haven't we?_

Tauriel shook her head slightly and sad down in the grass next to him. As she began to unbraid her mass of hair, the thing in Kili's hands glinted in a stray moonbeam.

"Your promise to your mother," she stated. He nodded as she looked over the opalescent stone. Glyphs in the dwarf's language sparkled in lines of white. He rubbed it between his fingers. His thumb brushed habitually over the indents of the letters.

"I have been thinking of the time I first saw you, Tauriel." Kili's gentle eyes swept over her face and she smiled. "Yes? I suppose those circumstances were similar to the ambushes we encountered today." He looked at her for a while. "No…that wasn't exactly it. I just… I was just thinking." He sighed and looked up at the canopy. No stars were visible. Only their light wiggled its way through the leafy veil. "I thought about how bravely you fought that day. I witnessed the first of many more acts of courage to come from you. You have never once stopped being the fierce warrior that saved my company." He grinned. Her heart soared. How glad she was to see it returned to his lips. "And then you imprisoned us. But I can't hold that against you."

The maiden laughed softly. "But I am glad you put me behind bars. How else would I have found the chance to talk to you?" She blinked questioningly and he held out the shiny stone to her. She grasped it and held it reverently on her palm. "I dropped that. Do you remember? You returned it to me. I was thinking…what would our lives would have been like if we had never talked? Would you still have saved my life and taken me into your forest?"

The elf was silent. She had often wondered what series of events had bound her so swiftly to the dwarf. Had it really all began with talk of his mother and a Fire Moon? "I would have saved you, Kili, even you hadn't spoken a word to me. It is my duty to save life. To protect it from the evil that wishes it harm." The dwarf smiled hollowly and ran a hand through his damp locks. "You say that now Tauriel. Yet….ah." He shook his head and caught her eyes. "It matters not. What-if's and could-have-been's are not my aim tonight. I have reflected over what _is._ You pursued my company. You saved me from my poison. And…and then I said something to you that night in Bard's house. As I lay there, revived on his table, I saw your glowing face above me. It was the light that had guided me out of the abyss of death. I saw your _beautiful_ face. Then I spoke."

Her heart suddenly turned to lead and dropped to the bottom of her chest. All her breath was dragged down with it.

His eyes felt like beams of light on her skin. "I remembered it all after my stone fell out of my pocket when I was washing my clothes. I picked it up, and I was living everything a second time." His dark irises flicked to the rock in her hand then flew instantly back to her face, pinning her again with their heat.

"I wondered out loud...if you loved me. It is a question that I still wonder at now."

Tauriel stiffly turned her head away. His eyes would be her undoing. They would trap her and hold her in their sable chambers and she would never escape.

She had never expected to share such a revealing conversation with the dwarf. Last night, he had been ignorant of his words of love and the elf had resigned herself to the future of a simple friendship with Kili and nothing more. He was comrade, yes. He had proven so many a times by fighting beside her and slaying their common foes. He had been kind to her and even joked with her. This had made him her friend. But…it couldn't be anything deeper. Not if he couldn't remember.

Tauriel had staunchly believed this. That's why she had treated him so coldly, and perhaps a bit harshly, so long ago that morning. He had wanted to continue his easy friendship with her, oblivious to his idea of loving her in a different life, and she wanted desperately to accommodate his pursuit. A friendship. She had managed far less before with members of her own kind.

Why had the idea of such a thing with Kili on that morning seemed so…empty? A mere sapling in place of the towering tree that it had promised to become?

All of this was a whirlwind in her head. It made her heartbeat sound horribly loud in her ears.

She swallowed with a dry throat.

Love? She couldn't. Not with an elf. Certainly not with a dwarf. They were too different.

She…she just couldn't.

…..

Right?

Kili laughed nervously then. "You need not answer my ponderings, Tauriel. It was foolish of me to think those things." All at once, the booming in her skull ceased. The maiden shook her head and waited as the steady sounds of the water and wind crawled back into her ears. Insects in the leaves of the branches chorused their nightly melody. The elf let the fire in her cheeks die down and her chest moved in measured breaths. She remembered to keep moving her fingers in her hair. The brook had babbled very lengthy tunes by the time her copper mane was free form its braid and cascaded in soft waves around her shoulders.

She looked away from the dwarf and watched the undulating silver lines of the stream.

"I just wanted you to know….that I think very highly of you, Tuariel." She refused to meet his eyes.

Kili talked on. The maiden didn't want to believe it was him. This person in the dark had his voice and his stature, but the words were all wrong. They were far too real. Much too personal.

"You were the only elf in that prison that stopped to talk to me. Me, a lowly dwarf in a high elven palace. You've fought with me. You have saved my life more times than I can count by now. You've tended my wounds relentlessly and without complaint or insult. And my wounds healed and my strength returned because of it! You even defended me in front of your comrades. Truly, Tauriel. You have never said a word to me out of spite or anger. You have only ever helped me. Nursed me. Smiled for me. Despite the fact that I have only caused you trouble since first you saw me." He frowned bitterly and then turned those eyes of shimmering pools to her.

"You have laid upon me an honor so great, I hardly feel worthy of it, even now."

The sincerity of his voice drew her eyes helplessly to him like moths to flame.

"I was a stranger to you, Lady Elf. And you risked your life to pursue me and take me here and return my life to me. My life that I had begun to think…" he frowned, and fisted his hands on his knees. "-that I had thought was lost." His dark eyes reached out to her. They sought to pull her in and drown her. She frowned and felt herself falling powerlessly into those depths that offered compassion, unfailing admiration, and so much more.

She was drowning in the space next to him and didn't want for air.

Tauriel had resigned herself to it and wouldn't say a word to save herself.

Except she did.

"What do you mean?.." she whispered.

He looked at her for an immeasurable moment.

"I suppose what I mean by all this is…I love you." His smile reflected brilliantly in his eyes.

"I swear to you that I have struggled for hours trying to name this…this perfect thing that has happened between us. And that only word that fit best was 'love'." He only let his eyes rove her shocked face for a moment before quickly looking away. Color bloomed in his cheeks and he held his palms out to her beseechingly. "We're so different, you and I. And yet….," he moved closer and Tauriel leaned in without realizing it. She was enspelled now. The cold discipline and control she had always kept around her like armor was strangely absent. She was enveloped in those inky eyes and the hands that reached for her. "Yet, I see so much in you that I recognize. Your bravery. Your loyalty. To me! To your king." He searched her face as if a thirsty man scanning the dry, barren land for a single drop to drink. "How, Tauriel?" he said, a note of wretched despair in his voice. "How can I not love you? After all this?"

She didn't move as he touched her cheek. His fingers were warm despite the coolness of the stream and soil.

He waited. Patiently, he waited for her to say something. To move.

But she was frozen. The dwarf had asked her, so many moons ago it felt like, if she could have loved him. She had never really answered the question though it had always been at the bottom of her thoughts. The elf felt firmly now that her answer was **no.** No, she could not.

Love meant giving herself up to him. Abandoning her previous life to embark on a new one.

_I..can't. I have the forest to look to. I have my orders to obey._

Tauriel had lived many years. 600 years and in all this time she had never let a man woo her. She had been so busy. Elf children were not often born. Their kind lived too long and felt too content with the nature around them to want for a child. But Tauriel came into the world against the odds. She was born at a time the forest was at its sickest and had always taken it upon her shoulders to do her part to cure it. She joined the military as soon as she was strong enough. She fought long and hard and lingered in battlegrounds longer than necessary and took the missions even experienced veterans were reluctant to undergo. Her forest _needed_ her. She would sacrifice anything for it. So how could she possibly have spared her time on another?

Then the impossible had happened.

She left her homeland. Her dear Mirkwood. She followed the dwarves and met humans and found different sights, and smells, and sounds. She disobeyed her king. Felony. She abandoned her prince, her friend. Betrayal. She had thought these things a thousand times and with each rememberance, a small piece of a much larger realization dawned on her.

_I did all those things…for him. _

Tauriel at the dwarf across from her. He was small and stocky. The color of his hair and eyes were so strange compared to the fairness of her kin. He grinned too much for her people's taste and was too quick to speak his feelings before considering their appropriateness.

And she liked all these things.

_No._ She shook her head and slipped her hand over Kili's.

_No, I love these things. This is why I save him. Why I protect him._

His eyes moved back and forth over hers frantically, desperately, not daring to hope.

"I can't explain it fully either, Kili. But…I love you too."

Like candles blazing to life, his deep eyes transformed from dark things into radiant starbursts.

"Truly, Tauriel? I…I ask you not to lie to me to save my dignity," he said in a rush, his face flushing fully red even in the night. "-I meant every word." He looked at her so fiercely, daring her to retract all her words and leave him to his torture of unrequited love. She smiled. A wide, happy smile that made her cheeks sore and her heart fly like a bird up and up into a warm dawn.

"Truly, Kili. I love you," she laughed and curled her fingers resolutely around his. Her other hand reached out to return his mother's stone. He grabbed the marked rock and the rest of her palm in his hand and held it against his chest. "You are so strong. You are full of light and life. You inspire me. You move me to do foolish," another soft laugh here. "-and incredible things." How could she admit these things so openly? It didn't matter. He was looking at her like she was a glittering treasure and he richest man in all the world.

His eyes sparkled brighter than all the lights in the heavens and he laughed. A warm, rich laugh that bubbled up from his stomach and rung out in the leaves and branches.

The dwarf pulled her closer. He wrapped one arm tightly around her waist and nestled his face against her shoulder. His nose nuzzled the skin of her neck and she blushed. But it was a wonderful feeling. It had her chest filling up with sunshine like it was water and she a cup. At any second she might overflow! She leant her cheek against his cool brow. He hummed contentedly as his hand combed leisurely through her hair.

"I can not describe how happy you've just made me," he breathed warmly against her collar. She closed her eyes. They did not live in a private world. Dol Guldur was still a terrible threat and she would return to her post in the morning and follow Arnuin's orders. But for that moment, for that beautiful space they had created between each other, Tauriel decided to forget about all of that and revel in the feel of Kili's soft hair and the smell of it, and the roughness of his calloused fingers with which he covered hers so sweetly.

"Tell me, Kili. Tell me what we do now," she sighed as she closed her eyes and settled him more snuggly into the curve of her body.

"This," he murmured. He settled their clasped hands upon his thigh and pressed a soft kiss to her shoulder.

"This is all. This is enough."

* * *

><p>Definitions:<p>

*Quenya is 'the oldest of all recorded languages of the Elves, and thus of all peoples. Although it was first written down in Eldamar, after the Great Journey of the Eldar, the Quenya tongue was in fact descended virtually unchanged from the Ancient Speech. In fashion, Quenya was quite unlike the Sindarin tongue of the Grey-elves, to which it was of course distantly related. It was a stately and ceremonious language, with polysyllabic word linkage and a comprehensive formal literature that was considerably more antique than anything the Sindar possessed.' –from "The Tolkien Companion"

Since this language is generally unknown to Wood-elves who speak Sindarin, I imagined that Thranduil carried pieces of Quenya with him from Doriath and taught it to the most skilled doctors and medics of his new kingdom. If an elf was ever to make a potion or spell that had the maximum power and potency possible, it would have to be in the oldest of the Elven languages. This was a liberty, again, that I took with my story. Some more liberties are the creation of the fictional stream Elurien off of the canon river Forest River that Tauriel takes Kili to, and of course, all of the elves that Tauriel meets on her travels.

Right!

Oh gosh. So, bit of a corny-overload with this chapter. I couldn't help myself guys, I built it up for too long and _this_ is the result! It's difficult to have these two remain in character while letting their barriers down long enough to be real with each other… Hope it sounded right. The next chapter is the last before the epilogue. An epilogue of sorts…I suppose.

Anywho! Hope you guys liked this moment I know we've all been waiting for.

Thank you for your reviews, even the guests who aren't logged in- thank you. And thanks so much for reading!

-Kirin


	8. Chapter 8

_(It's been so long since I posted a chapter. Eek sorry! However, I recommend you re-read the chapter before this to catch up on what's happened. Thanks and enjoy!)_

**Chapter Eight**

Kili had spent a better part of the day fighting giant spiders. Perhaps it was less than half, but the mind goes into a strange place when it fears for its life. The moment where pincers are close enough to the face that they leave trails of blood across cheek and jaw. The instant when great legs whirl so quickly overhead that they create gales of foul, dank wind. These seconds seem to stretch painfully on and on if caught in a merciless loop.

If prompted to answer truthfully, Kili would have said that the hours he spent deflecting fangs with his blade, running, dogging, rolling, and then leaping up to strike swiftly had felt like days.

Tauriel had taken him from the battlefield and laid him next to a stream when all the foes had finally been slain. It had taken a long while for the pounding in his head to dull to the point that he could hear elf's voice. She bid him to wash his wounds and scrub the gore from his clothes. He obediently complied. Then, the dark wrapped him up and the crickets sang a lullaby.

Kili lapsed in and out of sleep.

Tauriel had returned to him at some nameless time afterwards and his lips, too tired to be held in check, had then confessed to her the only words his heart had to offer. Painful emotions crept across her face. Anger. Denial. A stark glow that had been like firelight on her skin. Then she turned from him and surely meant to flee into the dark and disappear forever. Kili had resigned himself to the elf's rejection long before he had spoken the words that he could not take back. He had been a fool to have thought that she loved him. Yet the truth was like a blade between his ribs.

The maiden would always be as far and beautiful as the cold stars...

Then: the unthinkable. The fire was blown out. And something more like the soft, pearly shine of the moon replaced it upon her skin. Tauriel had become again the radiant vision he had seen a thousand times in his dreams. Her face transformed into the soft creaminess of a white petal, her eyes brighter than any diamond.

_Truly, Kili. I love you. _

How? It was too good to be true. He _must_ have been dreaming.

Nonetheless, Kili had reveled in the feel of Tauriel in his arms. Their future seemed brighter than the dawn in his heart. Then the dwarf had closed his eyes for a moment of bliss. Just for a moment- and opened them just as fast.

But the scene was different now, though the sky was still dark.

* * *

><p>Tauriel's face lay nestled against his shoulder. Her eyes were closed in gentle sleep and her arms were wrapped sweetly around his waist. His fingers tangled absently in her hair. Kili drank in the sight of her. Her pale skin. Her fiery mane like a gleaming river of copper.<p>

She was _real_. It hadn't been a dream.

Kili smiled and his heart started dancing again. He wouldn't question his good fortune. If fate had forced his people from their home to scratch a living off of rocks and moss and later sent countless enemies of sharp tooth and black eye his way, perhaps he had earned himself a little happiness? The dwarf shifted himself on the roots. They had become uncomfortable and his throbbing muscles and stinging wounds were making all of it a bit unbearable. But he wouldn't dare change his position. Not for the world. So the dwarf snuggled the sleeping maiden closer to him. His heart was warm and light and shone much brighter than the intensity of his pain.

It was as if he had lived in cold shadow, and only moments ago, had finally found the sun. Its spray of light was something he wished to swim in forever.

He sighed and smiled luminously.

Yet…Kili knew the sun- the true one- would eventually rise.

It would dissolve away the happy night and the elf would return to her people. He knew that he did not have a place amongst them. She had finished her task of delivering him to the border. The forest would spit him out and he would be left to wander down the river to retrace his Company's trail to Laketown. He wondered distantly what the weather was like outside the trees. Was the sky blue? The air warm? Would he miss the sight of leaf and bark and their grey hues?

The dwarf shook his head. Such dismal thoughts were not welcome while Tauriel still lay next to him and her warm breaths fluttered like feathers across his skin. Such a sensation still seemed so impossible. So perfect.

He longed to lean down just a little and place a soft kiss upon her cheek.

But even so slight a move would shatter the illusion and he would wake alone.

He looked back at her face. He had rarely seen the elf let her defenses down long enough for sleep. In the past, she was awake when he closed his eyes and just the same when he opened them in the morning. It was a secret pleasure to look her, unguarded, under the dappled light that dripped through the foliage. Hazel eyes peered back up at him. The dwarf flinched.

"Have you slept at all?" Tauriel murmured. Her face was even more beautiful with her glittering eyes open like jewels of topaz. Even in the dark.

Kili adjusted his arm under her neck. He reveled in the closeness of their faces. "No. I would have missed the sight of you." Her gaze flicked over him. But she didn't blush and she didn't smile. Instead she pulled away and flowed lithely to her feet. The coolness of the night eagerly filled her absence and the dwarf frowned. His arms felt much too empty without her in them.

"Did my answer anger you?" he asked. The elf's briskness saddened him but was expected. It was a part of her nature. She wouldn't have been herself without the careful awareness of her person and the boundaries of her surroundings. He had thought for a moment that he had been allowed inside her walls. But it would take more than a handful of words and some time cuddling in the night to achieve such a luxury.

"No, Kili," she said. Tauriel allowed him a little smile. A little ray of light slipping free from the clouds. "But the dark is thickening and we have tarried a little over an hour by Elurien. It is time to retire to the huts assigned to us." She absently combed through her hair and picked out flecks of leaf and bark. No dirt lingered there; it was too lovely to suffer it. The tendrils tumbled on in a shining stream and Kili realized he was staring. "Yes…yes, I suppose we both deserve beds." He braced his hands on the tree and crept to his feet. Every muscle and bone protested and he grit his teeth to keep from voicing his agony. The elf's hands quickly appeared under his arm and on his back to help him. He took a moment to lean against the wood. Sweat had formed in little drops on his brow. "You are in pain," she breathed. He could hear her worry. "Yes, but…nothing I can't handle." He stood up and peered into her face. "I survived that arrow. I'll survive this much easier." Her lips curled then. The hand on his back moved to squeeze his shoulder. "You can surely survive anything, Kili." His heart pounded and he wanted to hold her hands. Now that he had been so close to her, he found himself craving her touch all the time. It had become ambrosia and he starved for it.

But she was stepped away, her smile flashing like a silver fish darting through the water, and then it was gone. She bent to bundle bandages and medicine into her pack. He watched her fold his clothes and roll and tuck them into her belt. They were still wet and unsuitable for wearing. She then walked a little distance to perch on a cropping of boulders. Moonlight gilded the curve of her cheek. He sighed. Perhaps he had been unconsciously working hard not to notice before, but now he understood that everything in the wild adored her. The light pooled on her skin, the wind danced in her hair. Even the breeze in the leaves whispered her name. Maybe love was making a fool of him.

The distance between them seemed liked leagues. He shivered in his damp tunic and rubbed his palms together.

Her hands began weaving her customary braid.

"Is this it, then?" he called. She didn't move her head at all. She stood silent, listening to the babbling of the stream. "We had a good run, didn't we? Fought some spiders, made it to the border, and said some silly words. Now we part ways and forget it all?"

She looked at him suddenly. The wind died down to leave the streambed cool and quiet.

He didn't know why he felt so frustrated. Perhaps it was that when he let a maiden so close to his heart, she certainly didn't leave his presence upon first opportunity. Not that he could compare Tauriel to_ any_ dwarf he had courted before. Still… She was like the moon and he the sun that chased her, always chased her, but could never catch up. She was ageless she would forget him in a couple years' time. Or maybe she would forget him tomorrow.

But this fear was only a shade of his true terror: the wretched fact that they must inevitably part ways and he would never see the elf's beautiful face again.

A horrible feeling writhed in his stomach and he couldn't look at her.

"I don't want to forget you," she said then, so quietly it was almost lost in the breeze.

She sounded…sad. Kili was frozen where he stood. He had certainly not meant for his words to hurt her. But he was hurting. His heart was bleeding. Now she was looking at him with open eyes and her emotions were pouring out of them. "I brought you here by orders of my King. He spared your life. He means for you to exit these trees and never visit them again." Her golden eyes were molten. They almost seemed to ripple and undulate like the water by her feet. Kili began to walk to her as if drawn by a spell. It was more of a hobble, really. He had some serious scratches on his right thigh and favored his left. She waited like a statue as he clumsily crossed the distance between them.

"I intended to do just that. I healed the mark of the Black arrow. I did my duty to see your health restored. Now that we're here, I should have no problem as a soldier, as a servant of my King and forest, to relinquish my care of you and let you go." Tauriel looked away and stared at the water. She bent down- slowly, as if watching the reflection of her face and finding something strange in those blurry eyes- before kneeling and dipping her fingers into the stream.

"But I-…," she said, again so quietly he had to strain his ears. The dwarf was almost to the boulders now. "I sincerely believe…that you have saved my life as surely as I saved yours." Kili was near enough now that he could reach out and grab her hand. He tenderly cradled her fingers with his. The maiden's braid was almost complete. Only the end hung unfinished and swam in the wind. Her eyes met his.

"You didn't know me before I brought you here. Yet despite the harshness of my monarch, and the severity of your treatment at the hands of my people, you smiled at me. You laughed with me. You've shown me things I haven't seen in a hundred years. And…and I fear what will happen when you are gone and I remain here." He stepped on the slippery rocks and moved closer. It took him a minute of slipping and nearly falling before he stood fully by her side. His dark eyes held hers and watched their every flick. Their every glittering facet.

"I sometimes feel like these trees..." She took in a deep breath and let it out in a hollow, melancholy gust. Tauriel moved to take in the thicket of tall trees in her vision. "I stay in one place. I live and grow old." Her fists clenched and the wind suddenly picked up and whipped the orange braid around them both. "I _despise_ the evil that lingers here. I long with all my soul to be rid of it. To save this forest and make all this bloodshed worthwhile." She sighed and caught his eyes in her deep gaze. "But I have not achieved my goal yet. I feel so far from it..."

Kili held her hand more firmly, and she moved to take hold of his other hand. A wrinkle formed between her brows as she looked down at him unreservedly. "But you give me hope, Kili. That one day we will all be green and bright and happy again. You give me strength- just as you use your strength to save your homeland. To restore your uncle as King. You've never given up. So too must I never give up. Never lose hope." She shook her head, battling some concept in her mind. The dwarf moved to cup her cheek. "You _are _strong, Tauriel," he whispered. He searched her face desperately, wishing she could see herself through his eyes. "You fight like the wind. Your blade knows no defeat. If anyone will conquer this threat and see your forest renewed, it's you!" He smiled and guided her face with his hand so that her brow rested gently against his. "Your forest _will_ be green again. You will do it. Do not despair." Her breathing hitched and seemed more burdened. "I despair that you will go and nothing will change!" She breathed and pressed her brow more firmly to his. His chest ached and he brushed his fingers across her cheeks in fevered strokes. "I don't want you to leave..." All at once he was in her arms and her cheek was pressed against his hair. The dwarf sputtered for a moment before wrapping her waist in his arms and holding her tightly. If he had doubted their love and thought it a passing thing, he had truly been a fool.

He realized now that their love was something truly special. He could tell by the force with which she clung to him. How openly she spoke; it was rare for Tauriel to even offer even a glimpse of her innermost feelings. But she was, at this very moment!, lowering her barriers and sharing herself with him! He- a very far thing from her fair kinsmen that exclusively deserved her trust and openness. Mere minutes ago she had been a locked door. Now, he was twisting the handle and gaining entrance to a very glorious and secret treasure. He was changing her. _Him._ They were changing each other.

_And now I will lose her, just as she fears. We must part ways. She belongs _here_, in Mirkwood._

_Or perhaps…_

"Stay," she said. The elf pulled back and stared intently into his face. "Stay one day longer. I said I would see you leave when your health had returned. But you have sustained more injuries." Her eyes scanned his bruised skin and tattered clothes. "Another day is more than necessary for their mending."

The dwarf smiled though his eyes were tinged with sorrow.

"I will," he promised, and she exhaled slowly. Kili limped back to retrieve his boots and sat in the dirt to wrestle them on. The leather was stiff and his fingers numb. He felt the elf's gaze while he did so. Then he stood and met those golden eyes that held his a piece of his soul inside them. "I suppose I'm as ready as I'll ever be," he grinned, and smoothed his rumpled tunic over his breeches. It occurred to him now how immodest his state of dress was. But the elf didn't seem to mind. Tauriel nodded. Her braid was finished. Her face was again casually empty. She knelt then to gently tuck a piece of hair behind his ear and her palm brushed his jaw. Small, quick touches. That's all their remaining hours seemed to be made of.

He worked a breath through his tight throat as she turned around and knelt low. Kili closed his eyes and grasped her shoulders. She helped him onto her back. When she leapt from the ground, his muscles spasmed in fire. He grit his teeth to keep and remained stalwartly silent.

_Yes, I think a day spent in bed will do me very good._

The dwarf instantly started planning on how to keep his elf in bed with him.

* * *

><p>The path back to the district was brief and bland in the dwarf's mind. He occupied his normal haunt upon Tauriel's back but the happiness he usually felt at being so close to her or the fear that wracked his heart as they pursued or fled from an enemy were strangely absent.<p>

Only an unwanted resignation simmered in his stomach.

The dark trees gave way to the small community dotted with lanterns in a handful of moments. Tauriel nodded to various elves as she passed them. Guards and sentries still moved in the darkness with sharp eyes. Black Branch did not have time for sleep under its present circumstances. Kili ignored the way those armored faced followed him. Try as he may, he was very little concerned with the spiders' plans to take the forest. He knew it was an inconvenience to the warrior fey, but he knew undoubtedly that they would win in the end. If Tauriel's kinsmen could leap as high as she and shoot as swiftly, then they truly spent their time and energy worrying for naught. The elves had it all. A perfect military. Grace, beauty, immortality. What did they have that he did not long for?

Or perhaps his ruminations were jaded by bitterness.

But he was not in the mood for empathy. Kili let out a slow breath pressed his face into the nook of Tauriel's neck and shoulder. He breathed in her special spice of leaves and bark. She leapt higher and higher in a zig-zag pattern until she reached a pair of cottages near the Eastern boundary of the district. Her feet softly met the wood of the patio. The crickets' hushed songs and the pattering of feet across rope bridges were the only sounds in the night. He thought he heard worried voices somewhere in the distance, surely soldiers discussing the coming battle.

"These are the guest quarters for visiting emissaries. My commander graciously gave us use of them until daylight. I will request an extra day so you may recuperate." Tauriel draped his wet clothes on a nearby branch and bent to put her lips to the doorframe. She whispered the words that undid the protective magic on the door and then pulled it open. Kili went inside and squinted to make out the silhouette of an actual bed. Its headboard was etched with golden leaves and an adjacent cabinet stood against the opposite wall with matching embellishments of gold.

The plush mattress looked like paradise.

He looked over his shoulder at Tauriel. She lingered outside with the lantern glow like a halo around her head.

"I must return to Arnuin and receive my orders for tomorrow. He will surely want me to start on them before the sunrise." She gave him an encouraging smile. "I will do my best to return here before the night is spent." Kili tried to mirror it. His lips managed only a sad twisting. They stood looking at each other for many moments. He took a step towards her. She took a smaller step towards him and reached out to brush her fingertips over his outstretched hand.

Then she leapt back, over the lip of the terrace, and disappeared into the dark.

Kili's hand sunk back down to his waist. He made a fist and then closed the door. The blackness that enveloped him was almost complete but for the small circle orange that filtered through a window above the bed. He sighed and eased himself slowly into the cool blankets. His arms hurt the most. They still remembered the feel of pushing his blade through spider skin and supporting the creatures' massive weight as they bore down upon him. The muscles shook when put under the slightest strain. In no time at all, his biceps gave out and his body collapsed on the sheets. The dwarf shook his head and stretched his hands over his head for a long time. Then he kneaded his aching core and massaged the flesh of his legs, careful to skip the wounds that dotted their surfaces. He hoped his body would recover before he left the forest. He had nothing but long leagues of cold rock and icy waters to cross before he reached his Company.

Kili pondered the blend of emotions that brewed in his mind. Of course the thought of seeing Thorin and Fili again made his breaths quicken with eagerness. They would welcome him and give him a new bow and they would all fight together just like old times.

Then he remembered that he was alone in the dark. Tauriel was off somewhere busy with her own life and neatly cutting him out of it. His chest sank and the shade around him filled his lungs like cold water.

She didn't want him to go. Her fierce, sad, glowing eyes were like embers in his skull. The sight of them would burn in his memory forever. She had embraced him and pleaded for him to stay. No…not pleaded. But as close as an elf dare get. She loved him. She wanted him. And she clearly did not wish to lose him.

He smiled and let his mind return to the moment when she had admitted her love. Her cheek against his own. Her hands intertwined with his. Their spirits so close together that he hardly noticed where his skin ended and hers began. Then the maiden had fallen asleep against his shoulder and he had stolen her away from her people and forest and kept her only for himself.

Kili opened his eyes in the dark and clenched his hands. Spider blood was still black under his nails. Cuts and callouses were like a patchwork quilt across his palms. His fingers ached to hold Tauriel.

_She loves me. I will remember this even when I am far from Mirkwood and Thorin is King under the Mountain and many years have passed and I am grey and old and she is still beautiful and bright. _

Yes. That was it. Distance would not destroy their love: it was a thing that would outlast time itself.

_She will not forget me. And I will not forget the fire of her hair. Or the warmth of smile. She will be with me until the end of my days._

Kili slowly sunk into sleep as he vowed to give the memory of Tauriel the honor it deserved, no matter where his life would lead him, and his worn and battered body and empty hands did their best to mix his hopeful determination with a bottomless sense of loss.

* * *

><p>He didn't wake when the door opened. He didn't wake when the elf slipped onto the mattress next to him and stared at him for many moments while he lay unaware.<p>

It was her soft touch on his cheek that made his eyes open wide and his heart leap up in joy.

"Tauriel," he whispered. His grogginess vanished and he pulled her more closely to him. His arms clamped over her waist and his face found a home in the softness of her neck. Her hands slowly ran through his hair and worked out the dark tangles. He didn't know how long they lay there like that. He had tried to resign himself to never touching or seeing her again. This made his hands even more desperate to remember the feel of her back. His nose frantically took in the sweet smell of her skin.

A gnawing sorrow pushed its way from his lips. "I hate to leave you, Tauriel. I will miss you. _So_ much, I will miss you." Her hand continued to calmly run through his hair. She shifted so that her knees bumped against his shins as she curled around him. "I will miss you, too," she breathed. Her voice caught and she fell silent. They held each other in the stillness of the night. "I will always think of you, Kili." She pulled back and he let her. His eyes drunk in her face. Her visage rested completely in the orange circle of light. It was a halo around her pointed ears and auburn braids. Her glowing skin seemed more akin lantern paper than it ever had. His hand moved to touch her bright cheeks. "Until the trees sink back into the earth and the mountains crumble and all the stars go out like candle flames," she murmured and cupped his face as her eyes wandered over it. "-I will remember you."

He frowned and gathered her to him again to hide his eyes against the fabric of her tunic.

"I love you," he said through his teeth. He squeezed her waist so tightly with his arms that he feared hurting her. But she didn't mind. She was too strong. One of the endless features he admired about her. She was strong and brave and had showed Kili the true nature of elves. He found that he could not despise her people like he once had. In fact, he felt a certain gratitude to the Mirkwood fey. If their races had never quarreled and fought, then Kili's Company would never have been imprisoned and he never would have met the orange-haired elf that had captured his heart. How dull all of his life seemed now, as he reflected upon the parts empty of Tauriel sharp eyes and reserved smile.

_Stop this. You _must _stop this_. The dwarf shook his head and remembered the dragon that had burned and razed his homeland. His kinsmen that fought endlessly for the justice of Erebor. He thought of his Uncle and all the sacrifices he had made for his family, and for all dwarves of every land.

_As perfect as all of this has been….my fate lies elsewhere._ He wanted to stay. With Tauriel in his arms and her hands on his shoulders, he could abandon the world. But he could not abandon his brother. Nor his people.

_I have to go back. _

_And I will. _

He moved so that his face was closer to the elf's. Their noses brushed and she flinched and pulled back. Her eyes looked wide enough to swim in like pools of gold. "Try and see me before I leave, Tauriel." She blinked and he held her hand between them. His thumb traced circles onto her skin. "Commander Arnuin needs me to debrief the soldiers about the spiders' tactics and the new maneuvers they have begun to employ during battle," she admitted eventually. "I must also inform the elves that come from the palace about this development and work with the elves here to fortify Black Branch." The maiden's eyes darkened as she thought once more of the coming battles. "King Thranduil has ordered a small retinue of soldiers to go to Dol Guldur and learn the enemy's true intentions. I volunteered to train these men and accompany them." Her irises flashed like metal. They always did that before the elf plunged into danger. It took a long moment for them to soften to their normal state. Tauriel's mind returned to the small cottage in the night and looked at him. "But I will make time to see you... I promise." A line appeared between her eyebrows as she thought of something. Then, she leaned over him and placed the softest of kisses upon his cheek. He toyed with the thought of grabbing her and giving her a strong and proper kiss.

He couldn't bring himself to do it. Instead, he closed his eyes against the feel of her lips and stored the feeling of it deep within his heart.

Tauriel settled back into the sheets and their faces lay very close on the same pillow.

They gazed at each other and everything else fell away.

"You will save this forest. You will defeat your enemies. I am sure of it," Kili said softly. The elf closed her eyes and he settled his arms securely around her.

He tried his best to memorize the glow on her lashes before he fell again into sleep.

* * *

><p>When he next opened his eyes, the light filtering into his room was a bright yellow and birds chirped in the leaves overhead. The rubbed his eyes and turned to find himself alone in his bed.<p>

_I forgot to make her stay…._ He had initially wanted to keep Tauriel there and lock out the responsibilities her superiors forced upon her. He had decided, in the end, that she needed to be the captain of the Guard that she intrinsically was. She had been a captain long before she had been the object of his affections. The dwarf pouted for a bit before stretching and fighting through the pain of his bones. Then he slipped out of bed and stretched some more. When he looked around, he found that his dry clothes, belt, and gloves had been folded into a neat pile on the cabinet. Satisfied, Kili donned his usual attire. When his belt had been tightened and his hair tamed into a suitable style, he moved to the door and turned the handle.

He wanted some sunshine and fresh air. It would serve well to clear his head.

The handle didn't budge. Instantly, he was transported to the moment he awoke in Tauriel's room and found the door seamlessly sealed against its ornate doorframe.

With a curse for elven doors, he thumped his fist against the wood and envisioned a full day locked in the room without anything to distract him from his already dour thoughts.

He moved back when he heard a voice. A moment later, the door opened and a tall female elf with green eyes peered down at him. She was clad in full armor and her bronze helmet hid her hair and most of her brow from sight. She seemed even taller than Tauriel and definitely more imposing.

"Good morning, Master Dwarf," she said curtly. Her voice was without malice. Kili blinked and wondered if he was dreaming. Though he had surrendered his hatred towards the elves, he very much doubted that they would return favor. "Erm…good morning to you, Master Elf," he replied. He squinted in the sun as he looked up at her. "I have some food for you in which to break your fast." She handed him a bundle wrapped in leaves and a water-skin full with a cool liquid. He took them gratefully. He recognized the bundle after a moment. The leaves were what elves used to package their food. His stomach rumbled in anticipation and he looked up sheepishly. "Thank you," he said. The guard made to move into his room and he stepped back after a moment of hesitation. She crossed to the cabinet and pulled open the small doors. She gestured at the roll of bandages and bowls that were surely full with herbs and medicine. Folded cloth was piled next to the bowls. "Captain Tauriel left theses supplies for you. I assume you can treat your injuries by yourself." Kili blinked and the elf's word's sunk in.

That's right. He was allowed an extra day in Mirkwood to heal himself.

"Yes, I do." He stood still as the guard seemed to analyze him. "I hear you fought very hard against the spiders," she said after a time. She motioned the lacerations hidden under his clothes. Kili was growing more uncomfortable by the second. Was the elf deliberately tarrying in his room to make conversation?

"…yes. I have been in combat from most of my life. Never against spiders but," he shrugged, still holding the food and water. "-they were defeated just the same." The guard grinned at him and he realized instantly that this elf was different from her kinsmen. Never had one of them, besides Tauriel, _ever _smiled in his direction. "The spiders have discovered a new opponent then." She rested her hands on the metal on her hips. "Truly, the thought of a dwarf and elf fighting together is a very curious one." Her eyes traveled from his feet up to his face.

"Especially a dwarf of the Company my King sought to imprison." She shook her head to herself and straightened. "Forgive me for my informality." She nodded to him in an impromptu bow. "My name is Myradel. I am to be your guard for the remainder of this day." She closed the cabinet and walked back to the door frame. He shuffled away to let her pass. "There is a chamber pot in the corner. Its enchantments do very well to dispel any scent." Kili looked to the corner and then back to the pair of green eyes.

"Knock on the door if you require more food, water, or medicine." At that thought, she pulled an apple from the fabric by her waist and handed it to him. Kili took it mutely and waited for more of her surprising speech. He blinked and realized she expected an answer. He nodded "Y-yes. I will." He made a sloppy bow and paused when the elf began to close the door.

"Wait!" he said quickly, and set his food on the cabinet before returning to the doorframe. "I would like to leave the door open, if I may. I don't much like begin confined to room with a door that is beyond my use." Myradel nodded and stood outside next to the door. It was apparently the position she would hold for the coming hours. Kili looked to her as he stepped onto the patio. When she did not object, he walked more fully into the sunlight.

The light that crept through the canopy was still weak and the atmosphere was as grey as it always was. But the air seemed cleaner here and he took in a grateful breath. He stretched out his back and enjoyed the warmth on his skin.

He walked indoors to fetch his food and some medicine from the cabinet.

Then, he found a seat on the patio and splayed the bowls of herbs around him. With one hand he chewed on a chunk of meat and with the other, he began to coat his chest under his tunic with a layer of medicine. It smelled strongly of leaves and soil. He stole glances every so often at his tall guard. She stared at him unabashedly. "How many spiders did you kill?" she asked after a time. Kili flinched as the green-colored paste seeped into a cut under his left rib and made the skin tingle like a severe sunburn. "If I had to give you a number, I would reckon thirteen at least." He cringed as the medicine he smeared over his face stung enough to make his eyes water. He gobbled down some more chunks of meat and took a long swig of water. "Well done, Master Dwarf." He quirked a brow in her direction and she was grinning broadly. "I have rarely taken down so many enemies at one time." She looked up at the treetops and shrugged. "Not that I have much chance to leave the boundaries of this district." Kili wanted to ask her the reason for this but said something else instead. "You are very bold for an elf, if you don't mind me saying." Then Myradel did something then that made the dwarf drop his last bite of food in shock. She _snorted_. It looked so strange on her face, the wrinkles at the top of her nose forming out-of-place lines on her fair complexion.

"Do you think so?" she asked, her voice genuinely intrigued. She let out a deep breath. Her armor rose and fell with the action. "Yes, I suppose you're right. My elders certainly agree with you." She tossed her spear from one hand to the other. Then the tall wooden pike went still as she held it in her right hand. "My youth seems to have something to do with it." The wind swirled lazily between them in the silence.

Kili was having trouble accepting the past seconds as reality. The elf maiden was clearly well….an _elf_. Tall, beautiful, deadly. But every word that passed her lips and every bemused expression that she let fall unchecked across her face made the whole scenario seem too surreal.

_A week ago, I never would have imagined befriending an elf, let alone falling in love with one. Who am I to predict what life will throw my way next?_

He shook his head and decided to stop expecting the guard to act like a person she wasn't. With that, he leaned back and took a crisp bite of his apple. "And how young are you, Lady Myradel?" he asked, chewing noisily and feeling much more at ease with his present company.

She followed suit and leaned against the wall of the small room. Her mouth still seemed to grin as she answered him. "I have seen about 3000 moons since I first opened my eyes. By your time, Master Dwarf, I am 307 years old." Kili almost choked on his apple and made gagging noises until he swallowed it down. He took in a ragged breath and stared wide-eyed at the elf.

"300?! And that's _young_?" he shouted at her, feeling his good mood rip at the seams.

Her laughter was like the tinkling of a bell. "Yes, it is. I have yet to experience my coming-of-age ritual. Perhaps in another 100 years my father will deem me ready and ask King Thranduil to hold a ceremony in my honor." Kili nodded slowly and remembered when his village had thrown him his own coming-of-age party. It hadn't been more than ten years ago…

The dwarf unclenched his fists and finished the rest of his apple. Keeping his hands busy to distract his mind, Kili began to wrap fresh bandages over his herb-coated wounds to prevent his clothing from wicking it away. Then he soaked the gooey cloths in warm water and laid them against the back of his neck. He let out a happy sigh as the heat worked through his muscles.

"How old," he began, watching leaves move in idle dance as the breezes blew and sun rays stirred the dust motes. "-would you suppose Captain Tauriel is?"

Myradel tipped her head back as she thought for a moment. "Hmmm a good question. She seemed fairly mature when I was just a child. I've always looked up to her. If I had to measure it, judging by how long she has been a friend of my father, I'd say…." She squinted and the sun shimmered white on her helmet. "I'd say she is a little over 600 years old."

Kili groaned and clapped a hand over his eyes.

_I am a babe compared to her! Nay, an infant. How….how could I have forgotten the frozen youth of elves?_

Myradel laughed again. "Does this answer displease you?" She bent down to look more closely at his face. "What does the captain's age mean to you?" Kili shifted away from her and wrapped some bandages over the blood clots on his wrists. "It's not her age that interests me," he sighed. He finished with the bandages and collected the remaining ones into a messy heap. "It's…it's everything else about her." He stared at the white linen in his hands before tossing it away from him with a frown. "Not that any of it matters anymore."

He met the green eyes wearily, knowing very well that he had revealed too much. "Oh?" she purred, looking strikingly similar to the cats that roamed his village's dirt roads at night. "And why is this?" Kili squirmed under her gaze and tried answering her question with a question.

"Who…who is your father that Tauriel has known so long?" he said swiftly, plastering on an inquisitive innocence. The guard positioned her spear against the wall and crossed her arms. "You seem very curious about the captain," she began. Two long fingers held her chin as she studied him intently. "More than the interest of one comrade for another." She would surely have begun pacing around him if her discipline did not force her to hold her stance by the door. "But what of it," she said to herself and shrugged.

Kili let out a breath. She smirked. "My father, Master Dwarf, is Commander Arnuin." Killi's relief swirled back into surprise. He took note of the line of her jaw and the sheen of her hair. Yes, he supposed he did spy a family resemblance. Even though all Wood elves seemed visibly similar in his eyes. "Ah….I see," he said after a spell. They watched each other without the need for words. He held out a piece of fruit to her. She shook her head.

The dwarf turned to look back out at the trees. As the sun had crept higher, so too had the activity of the district jumped to higher levels. Many numbers of elves crossed the rope bridges to and from one cottage to another. Some wore very intricate armor with empty quivers and swords tipped with black. Others wore civilian clothes and usually carried parcels or parchment into rooms that they did not leave with. He only saw Tauriel pass his line of sight a handful of time. He drank in the sight before she disappeared into the depths of the forest or into the large cabin that she had conversed with her commander in upon their arrival.

"You might as well tell me, dwarf." He took off the cool cloth from his shoulders and looked at the guard.

"Tell you what?" he said slowly, thinking maybe that a room with a locked door and solid walls that separated him from those prying green eyes may not be such a bad thing after all.

"Tell me why your eyes follow Tauriel. Why you ask of her, but not of the other soldiers. Why her cabin door remained un-opened last night and I saw her leaving from your room this morning." Kili glared at her and felt angry.

The elf was young indeed, and her curiosity had not been taught its proper place_. _

"You have no right to ask those questions, guard, and certainly do not deserve an answer." He stood up and glowered up at her. She straightened, her shadow completely engulfing him. "Thank you for the food," he said sharply and walked his cabin without a glance backwards.

* * *

><p>Hours passed and he paced the floor and changed his bandages. The sun rose into the sky and then began to paint different shapes of shadows on to the tree branches and floor during its descent.<p>

Kili was anxious to see Tauriel again. Time was running out. The day had grown short and the possibility of the captain working long into the night seemed to strengthen with every passing shadow.

By sunset, the dwarf sighed and decided to apologize to Myradel. Though he regretted snapping at her, he truly did not think it her place to demand such intimate answers of a stranger. She knew nothing about him. On the other hand, she seemed to know Tauriel more thoroughly than he ever would. The knowledge sobered him.

_I suppose for Tauriel's sake, I will forgive the lass. _

He stepped out onto the terrace and looked up at her.

She occupied the identical positon she had maintained several hours ago.

"Are you not tired, Lady Myradel?" he called to her.

She did not meet his eyes. "No. Standing in one place is far easier than fighting spiders or being sentry in the dark hours of the night."

Kili blinked and wondered what she meant by that. "Are you….hungry?" he tried.

She shook her head. "No. But water would be appreciated." Kili quickly retrieved his water-skin from the cabin and handed it to her. She nodded and swallowed many drinks, nearly draining it dry. The dwarf felt like a fool for not offering her water sooner. He said as much. "You need not apologize," she said and looked at him a little shyly. "I am the one who spoke out of turn."

Kili smiled at her and shook his head. "I'd sooner chastise the wind for blowing too much. You are who you are, Young Myrdel: curious." He shrugged and reclaimed his seat on the floorboards so that his legs hung over the edge. Though heights still made his stomach churn, he had found himself accustomed to the sensation.

"I can see why she cares for you," the guard whispered.

The dwarf's head whipped around and they stared at each other.

"You must not speak of this to your father," he said quickly.

She grinned. The familiar sight made his defenses lower, though the hair on the back of his neck still stood on end. "Worry not. No elf will ever know. Just me." She smiled a smile that showed all her teeth and Kili wondered how a person could have spent such a long time on the world and still seem so pure and innocent. He laughed nervously and rubbed his palms over his knees. He looked back to her with sparkling eyes. "You have my thanks," he said and dipped his head. The guard returned the gesture and the easy atmosphere was restored between them.

"So…you think she cares for me?" he said after a while. Myradel leaned against her pike with the shaft brushing her cheek. "Yes. It is rare to see one of my kin be so affectionate. But I see the way she is with you. Her hands linger. And her concern for your well-being goes well beyond common courtesy." The elf smiled almost dreamily and then gave him another critical once-over "But I can see why." Kili's throat felt tight. He worried that Tauriel might get into trouble with her superiors for her fondness towards him, though he himself hadn't noticed her behavior as being anything overtly partial. Had anyone besides Myradel noticed? Had she been put under house arrest as punishment? Was she, at this moment, a prisoner like him?

He realized his thoughts were spiraling in an unhelpful loop and focused on Myradel's voice as she continued speaking. "You've changed her, Master Dwarf. She _left_ Mirkwood…. I haven't heard any elf doing such a radical thing in many centuries. And when I saw her yesterday," she spoke, green gaze seeing something very far away. "-her eyes shimmered with an inner fire, like they were as crystal and her spirit the flame." She sighed and swiveled her head to take in the sea of grey leaves and tall, tall trunks. "I envy her. I have rarely been outside of Black Branch, much less the forest itself. I would trade my finest bow for such an opportunity."

Kili frowned and his voice brought her back from her reverie. "You are so close to the boundary of Mirkwood, my Lady. Take but a couple steps more and you will be out." She smiled down at him, but it was a bitter one. "No. My father let me join the military at an early age so that he may keep watch over me. I move when he wills it, and leave the district only upon the summons from my King." She sighed and her thumb played with the grain on her spear. "But….summons such as those rarely come." Then her lips curled into a happier shape. "You have truly given the captain an experience that none of my people will ever understand. You've given her a chance to see beyond these trees. To love with an unguarded heart." She tilted her head so that he could see more of her face than he previously could. Prominent, dark brows. A sprinkling of almost invisible freckles across tan cheeks. Her wide smile made all the features came together in a resplendent visage. "To love a dwarf, no less." He colored and looked away with a grin.

_What does she know of love? Ah. She has loved, I think, in her own way. Surely she loves the trees. And her father, even if he seems overbearing; such is a father's duty. _

He felt like speaking candidly, then. He hardly knew the young elf maiden, or elves at all for that matter. But his time in Mirkwood was slipping away like faded leaves falling one by one to the shady floor. Perhaps he was a brown leaf, clinging to a lovely branch that could no longer hold him.

"If I asked her to leave with me, Myradel," she looked at him with a metallic glint in her sharp eyes. "Would she?" He wondered if his voice sounded as desperate to her ears as it did to his. The elf stood straighter and wrung her spear between both palms. Together they were a very tall, straight, and dangerous pair. She smiled grimly. "Answer me this," she said, more a mournful sigh than anything. "Would you ever expect to a fish to fly, even upon the sweetest of entreaties? Or see the sun rise at a time different than dawn?" She shook her head mildly, her smile falling as she examined the perfect edge of the spear's head.

Kili exhaled slowly and looked out into the village. Soldiers still walked briskly across bridges. Sometimes he saw injured men and women ushered quickly into cabins and torchlight flicker unnervingly. He was quick to check to color of their hair. Of course many elves had the burnished locks that marked these Woodland peoples. But none of them carried the fiery mane that only his Tauriel bore. Nevertheless, his heart maintained its torturous place at the base of his throat.

"I know," he replied at long last to his company. "I know… I was just wondering if there was some advantage I had over her that perhaps my blind eyes had missed." He laughed hollowly and scratched his dirty scalp. If Fili could hear him now, Durin's Beard. He would surely tease his brother mercilessly about if for the rest of their days. A lance of pain shot through his chest at the memory of Fili. Like water trickling through a leak in a dam and then breaking through in a powerful frenzy. Bifur, Dwalin. Balin and Thorin. Of course they and the rest of his kinsmen were always in his mind and heart. They followed him like shadows when he was awake, and featured in every dream.

_Yes._ He examined the grime under his fingernails. _My love for them must outweigh my love for her. My history with them surely runs deeper. I'll _not _let love make me a fool. I'm a warrior. I'm nephew of the King. _

He suddenly felt a furious rage that threatened to burn his bones as if they were made of tinder. Why did his loyalty to his people seem at odds with the yearnings of his soul? Why _why_ should one's love for family contradict the love for a woman?!

Then the flame suddenly when out, as if all its air was sucked away.

_It doesn't matter. Any of it. I leave the forest tomorrow. Then I return to the mountains. _

"I am nephew to the King," he whispered under his breath.

"And what does that have to do with anything?" Myradel queried. He flinched, irritated then as if his very conscious was questioning him. He had forgotten how meticulously keen an elf's hearing was.

"Nothing." He stood and wiped his hands. "We love each other. But love… It is not so powerful. Not on the outside, where it counts." He looked at the elf who, so young and sheltered, could not conceive the silent agony in his breast. "It's only in here," he thumped painfully on his chest. "Only in here where love is a king. A king of only one soldier. A king of two hands," his raised his curling fingers to her face. "-and two legs." He thumped his boots on the wood and turned singing, brown eyes to her cold green ones. The coolness of her face made him cease his theatrics. How easily it was to fall from anger back into his familiar habit of despair. He decided firmly to opt for numbness and shook his head. "And one head. And none of these things can't do much good against all the forces that move to work against me."

Myradel was silent. She watched him with an indecipherable expression. In her gaze he counted every one of her long years. He flushed and was thankful for her silence.

"I'll have my dinner delivered to my room, should I be allowed one. Thank you for your company, Master Elf." He inclined his head humbly and held her eyes. "Truly. I never thought to find a friend in Mirkwood outside of the captain." He smiled, perhaps the last of his cache. "You were a happy surprise." She nodded. Then she hesitated briefly before laying a hand on his shoulder. "You will do great things, Master Dwarf. You are uniquely strong and brave for your kin. And for mine. I will remember our conversation for the rest of my life."

He smiled. That was no idle a promise. Especially when one's life stretched on into eternity.

He nodded to her again. The sun had set and lanterns had been lit. Their soft glow added an even sharper severity and somberness to the elves' faces that strategized and fought and defended their home all around him. Perhaps he would feel better when he did not have to watch them from the sidelines, forced into a state of helplessness. Besides, what could he offer?

He retired to his room, shut the door, and closed his eyes in the dark.

* * *

><p>Tauriel came to him in the dark, just as she had left him.<p>

He didn't hear her come in or lay beside him.

His felt her fingers slipping against his face like rivulets of cool water.

He opened his eyes wearily.

Kili breathed in and let out a sigh that stretched on and on.

She had changed her clothes. She wore a tan, long-sleeved tunic under a leather cuirass. Her hair was fiercely plaited away from her face. Black blood was smeared on one cheek and a tiny crescent of clotted blood marked one perfect brow.

"Are you uninjured?" he whispered, panic bringing him painfully awake.

"Yes. Still, be still," she admonished gently, grabbing the hands that fluttered over her face and holding them against her chest. He swallowed thickly and took her words to heart. Questions bubbled up inside and threatened to spill out and never stop. But he didn't speak a word of them.

Her gold eyes flicked back and forth over his face. He wondered if she was trying to memorize every feature of it.

_Say something. Anything. _

Her long fingers touched his brow. His eyelashes. Ran softly down his cheeks and then stopped at his lips. A thumb traced their outline so slowly. As if she had made them and was admiring her fine work.

_Say something. _

_Please._

"I can't stay. I have to go in a couple hours. The spiders have been forced back but. They are relentless. They….they seem to have no mind to ever stop."

She closed her eyes. She held them that way for so long he thought maybe she might never open them again.

The elf sighed and when she turned those bright lights back up to him, she smiled. So small a smile it hardly seemed worthy of the title. But he caught it. He noted even the tiniest change in the elf's face.

"So…I think this is the only chance we have to say goodbye."

Her brows crumpled like the finest of paper as she frowned miserably. "I'm so sorry. I, I wanted to stay with you and….but…" She shook her head and Kili thought for a horrible moment that she might cry. It would be the end of him. He grabbed her chin and kissed her chastely. She flinched and looked innocently up into his face. Her eyes were dry. Of course they were.

Still. He was relieved.

"Your people need you, Tauriel." He smiled and when she mirrored it, he kissed those lips more sweetly and pulled back. "You have done more than enough for me." The smile widened and he savored it for a minute before capturing her mouth in another kiss.

He wanted to talk. To say some profound kind of goodbye. But kissing seemed a much better use of their time. And she let him. Tauriel was at first stiff and unsure. But he taught her to trust him. To follow his lead. He could not lead her in many things. But to move against his lips and tilt her head this way and then than and then, wonderfully, let her head loll back against the pillow so he may have greater purchase of her mouth- in these things she was a loyal follower. He wanted to lose himself in her. To crawl inside and never leave. His hands pulled her waist so she lay flat against him. Then he combed through her hair and settled for clutching feverishly at her face as they kissed and paused only for the occasional breath.

His head spun and he floated, trapped, in the exotic, parchment-thin land that existed between her lips and his. The darkness made the softness of her lips, the taste of the breath, and the earthen smell of her skin all the more consuming.

Then he tasted salt. He pulled back. Her eyes were as sharp as ever, though her cheeks were a rosy pink. Kili blinked a couple times. The elf dabbed at the moisture on his face with a thumb. Salt. Tears. He was the one who had shed it.

He took in a steadying breath and set her away from him. Only far enough that he could look at her whole face. Her hand continued to endlessly stroke his jaw. "I know," she whispered through a sodden throat. Her sad eyes beseeched him silently, letting him know that he was not alone in his sorrow. "I know."

He didn't shed another tear.

He only nodded and they lay there. There were no more words. There were even no more kisses.

So they lay there.

Noses touching, eyes unblinking. Sharing in each other's space as if were as natural as breathing. As thinking. As if there had been a Tauriel-shaped hole in his life until he met her and now that hole was filled and she was home and together they were complete.

* * *

><p>He woke up sporadically in the night to touch her. Just to stroke her arm or caress her cheek. Then he would be pulled inexorably down back into sleep. She was always watching him with those blazing eyes. He suspected she didn't sleep, only watched him sleep.<p>

* * *

><p>When sunlight crept through the window overhead, he opened his eyes in fear.<p>

She was gone and he hadn't said anything important and he hadn't been able to hold her one last time.

But…she wasn't.

She was still, somehow, magically, wonderfully next to him.

His heart thumped so loudly against his ribs he expected it to break through like a battering ram.

"Tauriel!" He gathered her up to him and laughed into her hair. She squeezed him tightly and laughed too.

"I thought…..but how?" he whispered incredulously, smiling like a fool. As if her presence was an answer. _Yes I'll go with you. Yes I'll spend the rest of your life with you._ Of course she wouldn't say that. But the feel of her still breathing against his neck felt almost as immensely satisfying as if she had. He shook his head and grabbed her hand and kissed each finger.

"I couldn't leave you," she grinned guiltily. But her eyes were not the gold he remembered. They were more like silver. Like oval glasses filled up with cold, pale water.

They sobered him.

It was morning. He had to get up and pack his things. Then he would depart. This is what her mirror eyes reflected back at him.

_Today is the day we leave each other. _

"I'll….I'll always be with you." He sighed and smoothed her hair against her temples. "And you'll always be in here," he said fiercely. He held their clasped hands against his chest.

The lived in each other's eyes for an eternity.

But it was only a moment. The next moment, a loud, staccato knock sounded on the door.

"Captain Tauriel," came Myradel's urgent voice through the thick wood.

Tauriel's face went blank. Myradel was not her flippant self. There was something strange in her voice. Something like fear. Something like surprise? It was impossible to place.

Kili's blood turned cold. Tauriel was as taunt as a bowstring. And she would fly like an arrow out that door depending on the guard's next words.

"What is it, Myradel?"

Both of them were as still as stone.

Then, another eternity-wrapped-in-a-moment later:

"Legolas…he's…he's here. He's returned."

Tauriel's breath caught in her throat. Kili closed his eyes and thought bitterly to himself.

_So. This is what 'goodbye' sounds like._

* * *

><p>Hey guys!<p>

One more chapter to go. Gosh I'm still reeling from all this drama I just wrote so I guess all I have to say is….I"ll try to get this last chapter posted at a reasonable time. Not months later, like this one. I know I know.

This chapter is SOO late. Ha ha but we're almost done!

Thank you for sticking with me this far! Thank you for all your reviews and support.

-Kirinlover


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